The city of Arcata’s Community Dialogue on Race series, which began after the fatal stabbing of Humboldt State University student Josiah Lawson last year, continues tonight with his mother expected to call for the reinstatement of an outside investigator brought on to help solve the case. According to a release from the family, Charmaine Lawson, […]
Crime
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Police: Slain Fortuna Woman Was Intervening in Kidnapping
A Fortuna woman who was killed Sunday was shot while trying to stop Ronald Allen Crossland, a convicted felon with a long criminal history that included domestic violence, from kidnapping another woman, police said today. According to a brief follow-up statement from the Eureka Police Department, Sharral “Sherry” McDonald had “no prior association” with Crossland […]
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Suspect Eureka Shooter Had Extensive Criminal Record
The man suspected of fatally shooting a woman in Eureka on May 6 before turning the gun on himself hours later in a Fortuna trailer park had an extensive criminal record that included several stints in prison, according to state corrections officials and local law enforcement. Ronald Allen Crossland, 52, is believed to have shot […]
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UPDATE: EPD IDs Victim of Sunday’s Fatal Shooting
UPDATE: The Eureka Police Department has identified the victim of Sunday’s fatal shooting as Fortuna resident Sharral Lynne McDonald. She was 60. According to the press release, the suspected shooter Ronald Allen Crossland, 52, who was later found dead in Fortuna of what police are describing as an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, knew McDonald, but […]
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Honeydew Store Owners ‘Put The Sneak On’ Alleged Burglars, Leading to Arrests
The Honeydew Store was burglarized last night but it didn’t take long for store owner Bob Shinn to crack the case. The store’s manager arrived this morning to find the door pried open, the cash boxes gone and several cartons of cigarettes missing. Shinn said he checked the store’s surveillance tapes to find two people […]
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David Josiah Lawson Remembered
Two students stood alone in the middle of the Arcata Plaza in the pelting rain, redirecting mourners. Due to the weather, the vigil and memorial for David Josiah Lawson, a Humboldt State University student who was killed on April 15, 2017, was moved to the D Street Neighborhood Center near campus. By the time Charmaine […]
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Mistrust Led to Ex-FBI Agent’s Departure from Lawson Case
The former FBI agent who had been consulting on the investigation into the homicide of David Josiah Lawson said his decision to step away from the case Monday was the result of his belief that the Arcata Police Department wasn’t being forthright with him or following his recommendations. Arcata City Manager Karen Diemer doesn’t dispute […]
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Three Facing Charges for ‘International Conspiracy’ to Poach Succulents Near Trinidad
The growing popularity of using succulents — here and abroad — for decorative plant arrangements is resulting in what state officials are calling a “rising poaching trend on the North Coast,” including the the discovery of an alleged international poaching ring. California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials arrested Taehun Kim, 52, and Taeyun Kim, […]
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(UPDATED WITH SLIDESHOW) #JusticeforJosiah: Students Block Admin Building, Release Demands
A group of about a dozen Humboldt State University students blocked the entrance to the administration building this morning and released a list of demands during a demonstration to call attention to the unsolved killing of David Josiah Lawson. The demonstration came as a part of 12 days of action leading up to the anniversary […]
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Fortuna City Manager Mark Wheetley Receives Jail Time for DUI
Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming confirmed this afternoon that Fortuna city manager Mark Wheetley pleaded guilty to driving involving alcohol (Vehicle Code section 23103.5, also known as a “wet and reckless”) and violation of probation due to a previous DUI arrest. Court commissioner Timothy Canning sentenced Wheetley to three years probation and 15 days […]
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Goldberg Faces 40 to Life After Conviction
Jon David Goldberg will face 40 years to life in prison when sentenced May 11 after a jury convicted him Friday of second-degree murder, with an enhancement for personally using a firearm to kill 42-year-old Tim Smith in September of 2016. After less than two days of deliberations following a month-long trial, the jury came […]