A federal grand jury has indicted the Humboldt County Fair Association’s former bookkeeper on five counts of wire fraud stemming from an alleged embezzlement scheme that prosecutors believe saw her reroute hundreds of thousands of dollars from the association and another local nonprofit to her personal accounts in 2021 and 2022. Nina Tafarella, who oversaw […]
U.S. Attorney’s Office
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Former Rohnert Park Officers Face Charges in Alleged Shake Down of Drivers for Cash, Cannabis
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California unsealed charges today against two former Rohnert Park police officers suspected of conducting undocumented traffic stops to shake down drivers for cannabis and cash. According to a news release, Brendon Jacy Tatum and Joseph Huffaker are facing conspiracy to commit extortion under color of office […]
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Tribal Chair: ‘Huge Discrepancy’ in Hoopa Election Results Being Referred to U.S. Attorney, Sheriff’s Office for Investigation
Hoopa Valley Tribal Chair Byron Nelson Jr. said in a statement today that a recount of election results “indicated a huge discrepancy in the number of calculated votes” for one district and findings suggest “individuals and potentially groups of individuals have engaged in efforts to manipulate election results.” The matter, he said, will be referred […]
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Father, son plead guilty to fatal Hoopa shooting
A father and son pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to their roles in a fatal Hoopa shooting in March of 2015 that left one man dead and two others wounded in a dispute over a marijuana deal. Hoopa resident Daniel Peter Colegrove, 73, died after being transported to a hospital in Redding. Under the […]
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Whitethorn Woman Faces 10-Year Prison Term for Environmentally Destructive Grow
A Whitethorn woman has pleaded guilty to charges of depredation against the property of the United States, admitting to doing more than $100,000 worth of environmental damage to federal lands as a part of her marijuana cultivation operation. Melinda Van Horne entered the plea Wednesday, according to a press release, and is free on bond […]
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Plea Agreements Reached in Federal Murder Case
Two men accused of the 2008 robbery and murder of a San Francisco man in Southern Humboldt have reached plea agreements with federal prosecutors. Ryan Carroll and Robert Lee, both accused in the killing of 35-year-old Reetpaul Singh Rana in a marijuana deal gone bad on Dyerville Loop Road, north of Alderpoint, each reached agreements […]
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Motion to Dismiss Filed in SoHum Murder Case
One of the men accused of killing and robbing a San Francisco man in Southern Humboldt seven years ago is asking a federal judge to dismiss the case against him, arguing that repeated delays have violated his rights and his ability to mount a defense. Ryan Carroll has been behind bars since his January 2010 […]
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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 […]