Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal held a press conference this morning to share details about a Wednesday evening assault on a correctional deputy at the county jail and to call for more state resources in response to a surge in similar attacks since the 2013 passage of Assembly Bill 109. According to Honsal, the attack […]
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Sheriff’s Office IDs Inmate Who Died in Custody
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has identified the woman who died in custody at around 3 a.m. this morning as Colleen Marie Branch, 36, of Eureka. Branch was in the jail’s medical unit to detox off an undisclosed substance, according to Lt. Mike Fridley. She was discovered by a staff member at around 2:45 a.m. […]
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The Humboldt County Grand Jury Wants You (to Serve)
The Humboldt Chapter of the California Grand Jury Association is currently seeking applicants for the next year of service. The county Grand Jury does lengthy investigations of different issues related to local government. Reports on these investigations, which usually come out in May or June, are archived on the county’s website under dry titles like […]
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California Doubles Down on Sanctuary Status, Arcata Mulls Next Move
An executive order taking aim at sanctuary cities that President Donald Trump signed in his first days in office has cities, states and counties throughout the nation scrambling in all directions — some distancing themselves from the term “sanctuary” and others running toward it. California is placing itself firmly in the latter category. Meanwhile, North Coast municipalities […]
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UPDATE: Court Document Indicates Kitchen was ‘Extremely Intoxicated’
2nd UPDATE: Marcia “Marci” Kitchen pleaded not guilty to both charges facing her this afternoon and denied all special allegations during a brief arraignment. She’s next scheduled to appear in court Sept. 29, with a hearing set Oct. 6 to determine if there is enough evidence to hold her to stand trial in the case. […]
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Jail Adds Suicide Netting to Budget
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will discuss tomorrow whether to add a provision for suicide netting to the Humboldt County jail’s budget. The item comes after a rash of suicide attempts — 12 in 2015 — in the facility, one of which proved fatal. Two of the 12 attempts involved inmates jumping from the […]
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Jury Selection Underway for Bullock Trial
Jury selection is underway for the trial of Gary Lee Bullock, who faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on charges that he tortured and murdered St. Bernard’s pastor Fr. Eric Freed on New Year’s Day 2014. Because of the notoriety of the crime and the projected length of the trial […]
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UPDATE: New National Report on Suicide Rates in Jails
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has released a report on mortality in jails and state prisons. Its findings offer some perspective on the recent spike in suicide attempts at the Humboldt County jail, which saw 12 attempts in the last year, three times the amount of the previous two years.The statistics in the report do […]
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Sheriff’s Office, Grand Jury Butt Heads over Jail Release Transportation
Policies at the Humboldt County jail continue to come under fire from the grand jury, which reported this week that jail staff refuses to inform prisoners being released that they have the right to ask for transportation if they were arrested farther than 25 miles from the jail. In its report, the grand jury says […]
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You Can Now Stay in Jail Until Dawn
The sheriff’s office today announced several changes to its jail release policy, including a provision that will offer inmates the option to stay in custody until daylight. The sheriff’s office policy, which allows people arrested on drunk in public charges to leave the Humboldt County jail — day or night — once they’ve sobered up, […]
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Law Enforcement Responds to Jail Policy Concerns
In a meeting organized by local interfaith church leaders, a panel of Humboldt County’s top law enforcement officers addressed concerns this afternoon about the Humboldt County jail’s release policy. Marketed as a general community safety discussion, the meeting arose out of criticism of the jail’s policy to release inmates detained for being drunk in public […]
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Dead of Night
How the fuck am I going to get home?” It’s about 12:15 a.m. on a Friday morning, and Matthew Page just walked out of the Humboldt County jail. “What am I supposed to do?” the 41-year-old self-described artist and musician asks. “I don’t even know Eureka. It’s 12:15, and I live in McKinleyville.” Temperatures are […]