While a CalMatters report last year found that many of the 73,000 or so California residents held in county jails who are eligible to vote face barriers in casting ballots, local officials say that wasn’t the case in Humboldt County in November. When addressing the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors in advance of its certification […]
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HCSO to Allow Family of Inmate to Donate Organs
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office today stated that it will allow the family of an inmate who suffered “non-survivable” injuries in an apparent suicide attempt at the jail on Nov. 17 to follow his wishes to have his organs donated. The Lost Coast Outpost reported earlier this week that the family of Eric Matilton, 38, […]
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Correctional Officer Arrested for Allegedly Smuggling Drugs
A correctional officer was arrested Tuesday by the Humboldt County Drug Force following a month-long investigation into information that he was smuggling drugs into the jail. Eureka resident Ricardo Tranquilino Aguirre, 27, who had been at the job since September of 2019, resigned his position today, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reported. According to a […]
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The Jury’s In
By their very nature, Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury reports generally make for pretty dry reading. Not only are they products of deep-dive investigations into the inner workings of the bureaucracies of government, but they are also the work product of 19 citizens who must be in agreement not just about what an investigation found […]
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UPDATE: Sheriff Outfits Some Jail Staff with Body-Worn Cameras
In response to a sharp spike in inmate assaults on officers, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is outfitting some correctional officers in the jail with body-worn cameras that it hopes will increase safety. According to Capt. Duane Christian, the office purchased 14 cameras — seven to be worn on day shifts and seven on night […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Liking the Cage
When I was 23 I arrived at the same correctional facility that my father was sent to a week before his high school graduation in 1972. This would be a recurring theme in my life, repeating the timeline of my father’s experiences. Rehabs, jails, overdoses, best friends dying young, drug psychosis, dysfunctional family split-ups and […]
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Marci Kitchen Jailed Until Sentencing in DUI Manslaughter Case
On the eve of a hearing to determine if she should be taken into custody pending sentencing in her vehicular manslaughter case, Marci Kitchen surrendered her bail bond and voluntarily committed herself to the Humboldt County jail Sept. 3, forfeiting what may have been her last night as a free woman for some years. Max […]
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The Jury is In
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury released 11 reports in the last two weeks that delved into subjects as diverse as jail safety, animal control, water quality and the very future of Humboldt County. Every year the HCCGJ conducts lengthy and thorough investigations into issues related to county government; the agencies or departments identified in […]
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TL;DR: What You Need to Know About the $2.5 Million Verdict Against the County
Busy week? We’ll help you catch up on the basics of this week’s cover story, which touches on Humboldt County’s jail, homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness. Read the full story here before you dive into a Facebook comments debate. This week the Journal took a deep dive into the recent $2.5 federal court verdict against […]
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‘The Hollow Men’
Before the arrest and the sobering cell, long before the civil rights lawsuit or the $2.5 million verdict, there was a call for help. It was shortly after 2 p.m. on June 13, 2014, and 42-year-old Daren Borges was in a bad way. Near the intersection of Seventh and D streets in Eureka, just down […]
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Federal Jury Hits County with $2.5 Million Wrongful Death Verdict
A federal jury in McKinleyville this afternoon awarded $2.5 million in damages to the family of a man who died at the Humboldt County jail in 2014, finding three correctional officers acted negligently when they failed to properly screen him before putting him in a sobering cell. The jury also found that the county failed […]
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UPDATED: Another Assault on Jail Staff
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reports that at around 8:35 p.m. on Saturday an inmate housed in a maximum security unit of the county jail assaulted a correctional deputy and two nurses during a routine medical visit. Taume DeMarco, 42, was initially booked into the facility Aug. 9 by the Fortuna Police Department on charges […]