Being a bit old school, I was put off at first. Eureka Police Chief Andy Mills was on the phone asking me to take part in a community panel that would help him decide who to promote to the position of EPD captain. The positions are critical to Mills’ plan for policing Eureka, which involves […]
Crime
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Former Sheriff’s Sgt. Charged with On-Duty Rape
A former Humboldt County Sheriff’s sergeant has been charged with committing rape and sexual battery while on duty last year. Jason Scott Daniels, 41, was arrested Oct. 18, 2013 by investigators with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office based on allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman while detaining her. Thursday, the DA’s Office filed […]
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Primary Collision Factor = Booger Flicking
Forget about text messaging, there’s a new vehicular menace on the streets of Eureka: booger flicking. Shortly before 9 a.m. on Sept. 21, a Eureka police officer was dispatched to Fairfield Street, where a vehicle had crashed into a parked car. From EPD’s collision report (which, may be the best ever written): “(Driver-1) stated that […]
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EPD Chief: Shooting Appears Justified
The preliminary findings of an ongoing multi-agency investigation indicate Eureka Police officer Stephen Linfoot was justified when he shot and killed 22-year-old Thomas “Tommy” McClain shortly after midnight on Sept. 17, Police Chief Andy Mills said at a press conference this morning. Mills said McClain was defying officers orders and reaching for a replica handgun […]
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Officers Stand Down at Standoff
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has de-escalated a standoff situation in the Cutten area with a man believed to be having mental health issues. “We had a subject who was mentally unstable and was acting out some — had some violent tendencies — and his parent had some concerns so she called the sheriff’s office,” […]
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Two Young People Die in Collisions
Officials have released the names of two young Humboldt County residents who lost their lives yesterday, Sept. 22, in two separate vehicle collisions. Rio Dell resident Rynn Smith, 24, died when the 1991 Toyota pickup he was riding in crashed on Van Duzen Road. According to the Weaverville office of the California Highway Patrol, in […]
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Scenes From Friday’s Shooting Vigil
Friends and family gathered Friday evening to remember Thomas “Tommy” McClain, a 22-year-old Eureka man fatally shot by police early Wednesday morning. The shooting, which occurred as officers held McClain at gunpoint in front of a residence on the 1600 block of Allard Avenue, opening fire when he allegedly reached for a gun, is currently […]
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THIRD UPDATE: Police Shooting Victim Named
UPDATED: Eureka Police Chief Andy Mills said this afternoon that a gun was recovered from the scene of an officer involved shooting that occurred on Allard Avenue early Wednesday morning, and pledged that the ongoing investigation into the fatal shooting will be thorough and objective. “Yes, there was a gun recovered,” Mills said, adding that doesn’t […]
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UPDATED: Woman Identified in Fatal Arcata Fire
SECOND UPDATE: The Arcata police and fire departments issued a joint press release today stating that their joint investigation has revealed that 52-year-old Kelly Maureen Nichols likely started the fire that ultimately took her life in Arcata on Sept. 10. Further, the investigation found that, after the fire began, neighbors attempted to talk Nichols into […]
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Updated: Sheriff Identifies Fieldbrook Victims; Suspect in Custody
2nd Update: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office today released the booking photo of Jason Michael Arreaga, the 29-year-old Lucerne, California man arrested Thursday on suspicion of fatally shooting two people in Fieldbrook on Wednesday. The investigation into the killings of Harley Wayne Hammers and Angel Robin Tully, both 37, continues, the sheriff’s office reports, adding […]
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Updated: Homicide in Fieldbrook
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Knight said he will be releasing additional information about last night’s shooting in Fieldbrook later this morning, after he debriefs with the detectives working the case. A portion of Fieldbrook Road remains closed this morning, as police continue to collect evidence and process the crime scene. Fieldbrook Elementary will be […]
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Possible Insanity Defense in Marijuana Murder Case
A 32-year-old Kneeland man appears to be exploring an insanity defense in the face of federal charges that he murdered one of the workers tending his marijuana farm in 2010. Mikal Xylon Wilde’s attorney, the eccentric powerhouse J. Tony Serra, recently filed a motion advising the federal government that he “intends to introduce expert evidence […]