UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Habematolel Pomo tribe has purchased the former Westamerica Bank building in downtown Upper Lake.
Westamerica Bank closed the Upper Lake branch Oct. 16, donating it to Hospice Services of Lake County four days later, as Lake County News has reported.
Hospice Services Executive Director Corrigan Gommenginger said the sale to the tribe was finalized on Feb. 26.
The 3,000-square-foot building, built in 1959, is located at 9470 Main St. It has a kitchen, two bathrooms, a meeting space and 24 parking spots behind it, and sold for $250,000, according to Gommenginger.
“The purchase of the former bank property demonstrates the tribe's commitment to investing in the Upper Lake community,” said Tribal Chair Sherry Treppa.
Treppa said the purchase not only benefits Hospice Services of Lake County – which she called a worthy cause” – but provides the tribe a property to house and expand its economic enterprises.
The tribe is the owner of the nearby Running Creek Casino.
Gommenginger said Westamerica Bank representatives Sinda Knight and Lisa Kline visited his office last March to inform him that they were closing the bank branch and intended to donate the building to his organization. It was the latest in a number of donations the bank had made to Hospice Services over the years.
He said the Hospice Services Board of Directors later voted to accept the bank building, discussing how it could support the organization's mission.
At the Hospice Services September strategic planning retreat, the board and staff considered many options for the building, including renting or selling it, Gommenginger said.
“We had a number of discussions and we had a number of ideas,” Gommenginger said.
However, no particular idea stood out, he said.
Among the options that Gommenginger said had been considered was another thrift store. Hospice Services has successfully run three thrift shops in Lakeport, Clearlake and Middletown, which have continued to see strong donations from the community even during the Valley fire.
Hospice Services reached out to the Upper Lake community to get ideas for the building. When the thrift shop idea was proposed to the community, “That wasn't really what they wanted,” but rather a retail business or a restaurant that would bring people to town, Gommenginger said.
“At the end of the day, we were kind of open,” he said.
However, it was during that community outreach process that Gommenginger said Hospice Services learned that the tribe was interested in the building for much-needed office space, which in turn would bring people into Upper Lake.
Gommenginger said the tribe approached Hospice Services about the building during the holidays, making the offer that ultimately was finalized with the sale in February.
When Westamerica Bank donated the building to Hospice Services, it included a deed restriction preventing the building from being used as a bank for 10 years. Gommenginger said that deed restriction is binding on the tribe as part of the sale's terms.
He said Hospice Services – which has a roughly $4 million annual budget – will use the proceeds from the building's sale to ensure that hospice care and bereavement services continue for many generations.
While hospice care is covered 100-percent by Medicare, Medi-Cal and most private insurance, Gommenginger said Hospice Services is committed to caring for those with serious illness, regardless of medical coverage and ability to pay.
In 2015, Hospice Services provided $78,000 in uncompensated care. Gommenginger said Hospice Services is seeing an increase in Hispanic community members who are using the services but don't have coverage of any kind.
In response, he said the organization's board is looking at using the building sale proceeds to create a perpetual program to ensure hospice care for anyone who needs it.
For more information about the care that Hospice Services of Lake County, visit www.lakecountyhospice.org or call 707-263-6222.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – State Sen. Mike McGuire’s legislation with Assemblyman Bill Dodd that provides state assistance to help Lake County cover the costs incurred by three major fires was approved in its first committee on Tuesday.
It is estimated that $1.3 billion in damage resulted from the third worst fire in state history, the Valley fire, and the poorest county in the state is on the hook to cover a portion of those costs – unless SB 937 is signed into law.
The county’s anticipated share of the cost would range from $2 million to $3 million.
The bill was supported with a 12-0 bipartisan vote in the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization Tuesday morning.
“The Valley fire caused unspeakable devastation and destruction in Lake County and resulted in over a billion dollars in damage,” Sen. McGuire said. “Now, to make matters worse, these communities are burdened by a historic loss of property, sales and bed taxes. Almost all of the tax base in southern Lake County, ground zero for the Valley fire, has been obliterated. The state needs to rally and help Lake in its greatest time of need and cover the costs to relieve the burden of Lake County communities and neighbors.”
The Tuesday morning brought to a close two days of significant meetings for Lake County’s recovery held in the State Capitol, led by Sen. McGuire and Assemblyman Dodd.
On Monday, Lake County public officials and staff presented several projects to the Governor’s Office, the Office of Emergency Services, Cal Fire, the State Water Board and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to boost support for Lake County’s short and long term recovery and rebuilding.
State funding opportunities are being identified and sought for projects including development of an Anderson Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant, Socrates Mine Road evacuation route and water quality needs for Clear Lake.
On the legislative front, Senate Bill 937, Lake County Fire Disaster Relief, adds the Lake County fires of 2015 to the list of events for which the state share of eligible cost is up to 100 percent of the non-federal financial assistance.
In 2015, more than 50 percent of all wildland fire activity for Cal Fire was in just one county – Lake.
Three major fires impacted the county – the Rocky, the Jerusalem and the Valley. They burned a total of 170,623 acres.
The Rocky and Jerusalem were incredibly destructive, scorching 94,556 acres, but the Valley Fire was of historic proportion. It was the third worst wildland fire in California history.
The Valley fire started on Sept. 12 and didn’t stop for nearly a month after its initial spark.
At its peak, 48 acres burned every minute. In the end, more than 1,900 structures burned to the ground, including 1,300 homes.
Nearly 20,000 residents were evacuated and ultimately 76,067 acres burned and more than $1.3 billion in damage resulted from the historic disaster.
These fires were exacerbated by the worst drought in the past 500 hundred years.
Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown testified in support of the bill Tuesday, outlining the economic hit the county would take if it has to pay for a share of the disaster’s cost.
“With a discretionary budget in our general fund being only $32 million, Lake County is the poorest in the state and the non-passage of SB 937 could mean the potential elimination of 11 of the 39 deputy sheriff positions that we already struggle to get by with. It could mean the elimination of 14 of our 29 deputy probation officers or the elimination of our parks maintenance program and the aquatic weed abatement program on Clear Lake. It could mean the elimination of road maintenance programs within the fire area,” Supervisor Brown said.
SB 937 was heard and unanimously approved Tuesday in the Senate’s Committee on Governmental Organization.
Testifying on behalf of the bill, alongside Sen. McGuire, were Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin and South Lake County Fire Protection District Board Chair Jim Comisky.
Sheriff Martin recounted to the Senate Committee the first moments he became aware of the strength and destruction of the Valley fire.
“As Sen. McGuire and I were briefed by other first responders, we could hear the roar of the fire. It sounded like a combination of a jet engine and a freight train coming through town. The damage it left behind was worse than both of those two machines could have done. We listened as propane tanks exploded all around us. We were in a battle zone and the Valley fire was destroying our community,” Sheriff Martin said.
SB 937 will now head to the Senate Appropriations Committee for approval.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – On Monday authorities arrested a Kelseyville man who they said kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman in Mendocino County.
Alex Joseph Greene, 35, was taken into custody in the case, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said that on Monday CHP Dispatch received a call regarding an assault victim on Highway 101 north of the green bridge near Hopland.
An officer was dispatched and made contact with the 19-year-old female victim at McNab Ranch Road, the CHP said.
The young woman clarified that she had been sexually assaulted and gave the officer descriptions of the responsible subject and his vehicle, according to the CHP.
The CHP said its dispatch broadcast a “be on the lookout” for the vehicle. Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies located the vehicle on Highway 101 near Geyserville and detained Greene.
Ukiah CHP personnel responded to Sonoma County to pick up Greene and transport him back to Mendocino County, the report said.
Mendocino County District Attorney's Office investigators responded to assist the CHP with the investigation, the CHP said.
The CHP said Greene was booked into the Mendocino County Jail on Monday night on charges including kidnapping, sexual battery and forcible penetration.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Caltrans is inviting the community to a meeting to discuss a proposal for a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 29 and Hartmann Road.
The drop-in style meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, at Middletown High School, 20932 Big Canyon Road.
There will be displays of the project and Caltrans staff will be on hand to answer questions.
Caltrans is proposing to install a roundabout to improve the intersection's safety and operation.
The proposal has been on the drawing board for several years as Caltrans has worked to find solutions for the intersection's high crash rate.
In October 2011 Caltrans completed the installation of a three-way stop at the intersection due to a high number of vehicle collisions that had earned the site an overall crash rate five times the state average. At the same time fatalities and injuries at the intersection were 15 and six times, respectively, the state average, officials said at the time.
If the project goes forward, it would be the county's fourth roundabout.
The first was installed by the city of Lakeport about a decade ago at the intersection of Lakeport Boulevard, Parallel Drive and Todd Road.
Caltrans installed the next two, at the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff in Nice, completed about three years ago, and at the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 29 in Upper Lake, which was finished last year.
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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Upper Lake Unified School District on Tuesday voted to hire two principal positions and accepted an organization chart that lays out the leadership responsibilities for the new district.
In separate votes the board unanimously approved hiring the principals for Upper Lake Middle School and Upper Lake High School.
Based on the board's action, Don Boyd, the current assistant superintendent of the Upper Lake Union High School District, will be the new principal of the middle school and Sandy Coatney, Upper Lake High's vice principal and dean of students, will be the new high school principal, effective July 1.
Boyd and Coatney are the fourth and fifth employees, respectively, that the board has voted to hire as it has begun the work of establishing its key administrative posts.
First hired was interim Superintendent Patrick Iaccino, who continues to also fulfill his role as superintendent and superintendent of the soon-to-be-dissolved high school district.
The board followed up by hiring Dina McCrea, Iaccino's administrative assistant at the high school, to fulfill that same role for the new district, followed by the hiring of the high school's business manager, Sue Milhaupt, as chief business official.
Still to be hired is the new elementary school principal. Valerie Gardner, currently the superintendent/principal of the elementary district, is due to retire this summer.
The board approved a recruitment for the principal's job. The deadline for applications was March 4. A committee that includes Iaccino and Gardner, and elementary teachers and parents will work select the new candidate.
In other business, the board unanimously approved a district organizational chart.
At the top of the chart is the superintendent, and under that post are listed an administrative assistant and a head of maintenance and operations, and two arms of management – district and site.
Under the district management arm are the chief business official – a fiscal assistant and food services staffer answer to that individuals – along with the director of special education and director of technology.
Under site management are the elementary, middle and high school principals, with the middle school principal to oversee alternative education, with transportation under the high school principal's oversight.
Both Milhaupt and Iaccino also gave updates to the board about the ongoing work to get district business fully consolidated, including issues with free and reduced lunch programs and the district's ad hoc committees.
Gardner, seated in the audience, told the board that there is a tremendous amount of work going on right now regarding the effort to complete the consolidation, adding that it's “mind boggling” how much Iaccino is having to handle.
Iaccino said it's a learning process and indicated he's glad to be doing it, despite the workload.
The board is next scheduled to meet Tuesday, March 22, and is expected to move from twice-monthly meetings to meeting just once a month beginning in April.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee will discuss business retention when it meets this week.
The meeting will take place from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 9, at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The committee is set to hold a working session on the Lakeport Economic Development Strategic Plan.
Chair Wilda Shock said discussion at this meeting will focus on the city's 2003 Business Recruitment and Retention Strategy.
The group will discuss components of the 2003 plan that are relevant for creating the new economic development strategy plan.
There also will be time for citizen input.
LEDAC advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.
Members do not have to be Lakeport residents.
In addition to Shock, the membership includes Vice Chair Christine Hutt, Secretary Rebecca Southwick, and members Bill Eaton, Melissa Fulton, Pam Harpster, Chris King, George Linn, Taira St. John and Panette Talia.
Lakeport City Community Development Director Kevin Ingram and City Manager Margaret Silveira serve as ex-officio committee members.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With Clear Lake approaching its full mark, officials on Wednesday began releasing water from the Cache Creek Dam.
The California-Nevada River Forecast Center is forecasting Clear Lake to reach the full level – 7.56 feet Rumsey – this weekend, due to continuing storms.
The National Weather Service is forecasting several inches of rain will fall on Lake County from Thursday into next week.
With continued high flow levels anticipated to continue through next week, early releases will help keep Clear Lake levels closer to full level and reduce potential flood impacts, Lake County Water Resources reported.
Water Resources reported that at approximately 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District – which holds the main water rights to Clear Lake – began releasing water from Cache Creek Dam.
Releases will be gradually increased depending on actual lake levels and forecasts. It is possible that full flood releases will occur by this weekend, Water Resources said.
Because of the limited flow capacity of the Cache Creek Outlet Channel, full flood releases when Clear Lake is full is only 2,500 cubic feet per second, which will reduce the rise in Clear Lake by approximately 1.5 inches per day, officials said.
Yolo Flood is in contact with Lake County Water Resources and is coordinating operation of the dam with county staff, according to Water Resources staff.
As a result of the Gopcevic Decree of 1920, operating criteria were developed that require flows be released from Clear Lake when the level exceeds certain levels which vary by the time of the year.
The operating criteria mandatory release level is 7.46 feet Rumsey for March 9. There is a 6-inch exception to allow for early releases for forecasted storms, Water Resources reported.
On Wednesday morning, Clear Lake was at 6.15 feet Rumsey, more than 1.3 – or 16 inches – below the operating criteria. While this is outside the normal limits of the operating criteria, Water Resources said Yolo Flood and county staff agreed that, with the current forecasts, beginning flood releases at this time will help reduce potential flooding around Clear Lake and is in the best interests of the public.
Additional information regarding the operating criteria and Clear Lake is available at the Lake County Water Resources Web site at http://watershed.co.lake.ca.us ; click on the “Clear Lake Information” link on the left.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With a series of storms bearing down on Northern California, forecasters are urging residents to be ready for winds, heavy rains, snow in higher elevations and the potential for flooding.
Forecasters said a parade of strong storms is expected to bring periods of moderate to heavy rainfall beginning on Thursday and extending into early next week.
With soils already saturated and creeks running high from several days of rain, officials are concerned that it could lead to flooding.
As a result, the National Weather Service has issued a flood watch that will be in effect from 4 a.m. Thursday though 6 p.m. Sunday across a large part of Northern California – including Lake County – warning of the potential for urban and small stream flooding over a five-day period. Areas of particular concern are those below 4,000 feet elevation.
Along with the rain, the storms are forecast to bring gusty winds, leading to the potential for downed trees and damaged power utilities.
In Lake County's burn areas, heavy rains also are a concern due to the potential for flooding and slides.
Lake County's specific forecast calls for several inches of rain from Thursday through Tuesday.
During the day and night on Thursday alone, up to 3 inches of rain is expected to fall, with showers forecast to continue into Tuesday night.
The Lake County Department of Public Works said Wednesday that the incoming storms are expected to inundate the Scotts Valley Road area near Lakeport, potentially closing the road for several days.
Scotts Valley Road had been closed temporarily earlier this week after having been flooded as a result of weekend storms.
Public Works anticipated water would again cover Scotts Valley Road on Thursday night or early Friday morning, and officials asked people in the area to be prepared.
A detour on Eickhoff Road will be opened up late on Thursday afternoon in expectation of the incoming rain event, Public Works reported.
The detour is for area residents, and those who don't need to travel through the area are encouraged to avoid it. Public Works said the road can become impassible, and wakes from vehicles can cause property damage.
The recent rains have pushed Clear Lake's depth to 6.21 feet Rumsey as of Wednesday afternoon. A full lake is 7.56 feet Rumsey, and Clear Lake is forecast to hit that level this weekend, according to the California-Nevada River Forecast Center.
The lake's level led Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District – in coordination with Lake County Water Resources – to begin releasing water from Cache Creek Dam on Wednesday morning.
Water Resources officials said it's possible that full flood releases will occur by this weekend.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – For three weeks, Luther Jones Jr. has been a free man.
He had spent nearly 20 years behind bars – 18 of them in state prison – for a molestation case that, as it turned out, was trumped up against him by an ex-girlfriend engaged in a custody battle with him, who had told one of her older daughters to lie.
In July 1998 Jones had been sentenced to 27 years in prison after standing trial twice and taking the stand in his own defense.
When the young woman who had testified against him – who now lives outside of Lake County – came forward on Feb. 9 to tell the Lake County District Attorney's Office that her mother had made her lie, local officials quickly took action to get Jones exonerated.
And that's just what happened when, on Feb. 16, District Attorney Don Anderson and defense attorney Angela Carter went to the Lake County Superior Court to argue for Jones' release based on the main witness' recantation.
In that same hearing, Lake County Superior Court Judge Andrew Blum took action that neither Anderson nor Carter was expecting – he ordered Jones immediately released, skipping the potential for weeks of additional hearings.
Blum wanted Jones set free with no further delays, with no more days spent behind bars for a crime he did not commit.
“He was released very, very quickly,” said Carter. “Those writs usually take a lot longer.”
A day later, Jones was released from the state prison system's California Health Care Facility in Stockton to the care of his son, Ko'Fawn Jones, who brought his father home to Lake County.
While his exoneration and the clearing of his name has been a moment of triumph for Jones and his family, it also has opened up a series of struggles, unexpected obstacles and a bureaucratic mire that they are struggling to navigate.
Jones' numerous serious health problems and the fact that he is bedridden means he requires around-the-clock care from his family.
Ko'Fawn Jones, who lost his Cobb home in the Valley fire, has quit his job to care for his father, and is now struggling to make ends meet, pay bills, purchase medication and medical equipment, and respond to his father's complex health needs.
As the realities of the present situation have confronted the family, they find themselves wondering where to turn for help, and asking if they can expect to be paid for a claim they are lodging against the state for Luther Jones' wrongful conviction. The cost is tallied at $140 per day.
Linda Starr, legal director for the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara University School of Law – which is helping Jones file the claim with the state – estimated that Jones is entitled to about $900,000 worth of compensation.
A family friend set up a GoFundMe account for the family at https://www.gofundme.com/lutherjones . As of Monday night, it had collected $1,520 of the $10,000 goal.
A life turned upside down
The Jones family came to the Clearlake area decades ago.
Luther Jones Jr. had successfully run a bar and restaurant near Austin Park and had plans at one point to try to purchase the old Austin Resort and renovate it. “There wasn't nothing I couldn't do.”
His sons said he was known for barbecuing for his neighbors and friends.
In 1996 Jones had been involved in a relationship with a woman with whom he had the youngest of his seven children.
He spent six months in jail in a domestic violence case, but shortly after his release he filed a court case to get custody of his then-2-year-old daughter. At the end of August 1996 he won his case and took custody of the girl. Two days later, his ex-girlfriend's 10-year-old daughter told her school principal that he had molested her.
Anderson's writ of habeas corpus filing said that, in actuality, the girl's mother's then-boyfriend had molested her.
Jones went to trial in early 1998, and was convicted at the end of his second trial. The first jury had been deadlocked in the case.
The family chalks up the wrongful conviction to the Lake County justice system, alleging that those without money can't get a fair trial. Luther Jones had his own attorney at first but ran out of money, and had a public defender.
After he was locked up, he said the woman who had orchestrated the case against him – who had serious drug problems – trashed his property and vehicles. His family later ended up selling the property because he wasn't there to care for it.
Ko'Fawn Jones, one of Luther Jones' seven children, was 21 years old and serving in the military in Alabama when his father was sentenced to state prison.
“Everybody knew that my dad was innocent,” he said, adding that over the years many people have asked about his father and said they knew he was sent away for a crime he didn't do.
He kept in touch with his father, writing letters, but hadn't been able to visit him. He and his siblings also tried to get lawyers to fight for exoneration, but those efforts failed.
During his 18 years in the state prison system, Jones was shuttled from one prison to another. “They said I was a bad influence,” he said.
He did time at facilities including Old Folsom, Calipatria and San Quentin. He said he spent 10 years in the Vacaville medical facility, where he had good care.
“With his charges, it made it dangerous for him every day in prison,” Ko'Fawn explained.
“My life was threatened,” Luther Jones said, adding that some people left him alone and stood up for him.
He was never assaulted, despite being threatened. He said he “walked the line like I was supposed to do.”
Inside prison, his health began to fail. His family has a history of issues such as diabetes. In addition, he has problem with his liver, requires dialysis for failing kidneys and his now bedridden.
Over the years he filed suits against the state that alleged poor care and reasserted his innocence.
In 2013 he moved to the Stockton medical facility. He said he was one of the first inmates to arrive at the $1 billion facility. He said the care there wasn't good and that he was abused, with his property taken for no reason.
That life of seemingly endless struggle came to an abrupt and unexpected end in February, after the young woman who had lied on the stand at her mother's instruction told District Attorney's Office investigators the truth.
After she had become a mother and straightened out her life, she said the situation had weighed on her heart, and at her grandmother's urging she went to authorities to tell the truth.
Ko'Fawn Jones said his father is not angry with the young woman whose testimony convicted him – and whose statements ultimately led to him being set free.
Luther Jones, however, didn't want to discuss the woman who created the case against him. The District Attorney's Office said it's considering filing charges against the woman, who does not live in Lake County.
Ko'Fawn Jones said he found out that the exoneration effort was moving forward when Lake County News published the first story on the case on Feb. 15.
The following day, Judge Blum ordered Luther Jones be freed. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation received the signed writ that day, and had up to five days to process Jones' release, which spokesman Luis Patino told Lake County News would give the prison system the time to determine a “continuum of care” to deal with Jones' health issues.
Jones found out on Feb. 17 that he was being released.
“I couldn't believe it. I didn't believe it,” Luther Jones said of being told he was to be released from prison.
He said he received the news 30 minutes before he was freed from custody. “The prisons threw me out.”
Ko'Fawn Jones met his father, in an ambulance, outside the prison gates. He had been told by prison officials that his father wanted food from Carl's Jr., so he picked up a bag of it.
Since he was sent to prison, Jones' elderly parents died.
Ko'Fawn recalls his grandmother telling him, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
“That's my mama,” Luther said.
Jones is now among 1,748 individuals who have been exonerated for wrongful convictions nationwide since 1989, according to the University of Michigan Law School's National Registry of Exonerations.
The rocky road home
The ambulance brought Luther Jones to the home in Lake County where Ko'Fawn Jones moved after losing his home in the Valley fire.
Ko'Fawn Jones said he was given a box of his father's medications, with no explanation of how to administer them.
His father also was given $200 in “gate money,” which is usually what released convicts get, Ko'Fawn Jones said.
That first night he was home, Luther Jones and his son sat up talking and watching movies.
The next morning, Ko'Fawn Jones got up to get ready to go to his job at Twin Pine Casino in Middletown, an employer which he said has been very supportive throughout the situation.
He said he asked his father if he was OK, and told him he had to go to work.
When he returned hours later, his father was unresponsive and wouldn't wake up. Ko'Fawn Jones called 911 and a fire district ambulance transported his father to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake.
Luther Jones later was transferred to St. Helena Hospital in Napa County for further treatment. Jones praised that hospital for its treatment of him, explaining the doctors took the time to assess his condition, adding in new medications and taking away others.
He was released from the hospital Feb. 24. While he's better, “I'm still not good,” he said, adding he is hurting and could still die.
Ko'Fawn Jones said he still hasn't been able to get some of the medications he needs due to issues with insurance and cost.
Carter said the prison system failed to follow through on determining the continuum of care for Jones.
His son agreed. “Is this what he gets for being wrongfully accused for 20 years?”
Luther Jones is worried about making ends meet. “What the hell are we gonna do?”
He said he doesn't want to be a burden to his son, who assures him that he's not.
“Me having my father back is wonderful,” Ko'Fawn Jones said.
The family is in the beginning process of rebuilding, Ko'Fawn Jones said.
His seven children are trying to get up to see him, including his oldest son, now retiring from the Navy after 25 years.
The youngest child, who was the toddler who was at the heart of his custody battle with his ex-girlfriend, has seen her father, and was on her way to see him again on a recent Friday afternoon.
After the case, she went into foster care and later was adopted. Once in a stable and loving home, she was able to get back in touch with Ko'Fawn Jones, staying connected to her family.
Many of Luther Jones' grandchildren have never seen him before. Some of his sisters don't know he's been released.
In addition to his family, in his new home situation Luther Jones also has got company in the form of Shabazz, his son's huge and sweet-tempered Rottweiler. Luther Jones even worries about the dog's needs.
Ko'Fawn Jones is trying to make his father as comfortable as possible. It's a challenge to lift his much bigger father, who now has sore ribs from being moved from his bed to the bathroom. Ko'Fawn Jones thinks they will need to leave the smaller, older house where they are living for something larger where they can more easily move his father around.
Luther Jones said he's enjoying the chance to eat better food. In prison, his diet mostly included beans, cream of wheat and oatmeal.
Now, “I want to try everything,” he said, noting that, despite his health issues, he can eat anything he'd like as long as it's in moderation.
Some of the things he's enjoyed since being out go from the remarkably simple – a handful of popcorn, which he hadn't tasted in decades – to ribs and steak.
He's also marveling at the technological advances that have taken place since he went to prison.
One of the things that's most amazing to him are smartphones. “That's the bomb,” the said.
The process ahead
Starr called Jones' treatment by the prison system “appalling” and “irresponsible.”
The Northern California Innocence Project often represents the wrongly convicted, and so has experience in filing claims against the state to help those who have been exonerated.
Two legal students with the Northern California Innocence Project are assisting Carter with filing the necessary paperwork to get Jones some compensation for his time in custody. They've also connected the family with a person who is helping get Luther Jones signed up for the necessary medical care.
To receive compensation from the state, exonerees must follow a process outlined in state statute, Starr explained.
Starr said the statute requires that a form be filled out no earlier than 60 days from exoneration and no later than two years after release from custody, with an explanation of why the person is entitled to compensation. “You have to tell them you’re factually innocent.”
That paperwork is then filed with the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board.
The agency handles not just claims by the wrongly convicted, but its main work deals with claims from crime victims – which number between 50,000 and 60,000 annually – and claims against government for bid protests, Wayne Strumpfer, the board's legal counsel, told Lake County News.
“We usually get anywhere from 10 to 15 claims a year,” Strumpfer said regarding exoneree filings.
Since 2000, the board has granted 22 of the claims totaling about $8,647,600, and denied another 59 claims, Strumpfer said.
Starr said the Innocence Project has filed a number of the claims on the behalf of exonerated individuals, and been successful “a fair number of times.”
The organization also has been involved in legislation to make the claims process more responsive to exonerees, and more streamlined and efficient, she said.
In 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 618, which binds the board and the state attorney general to “the factual findings and credibility determinations establishing the court’s basis for granting the writ of habeas corpus, a motion for new trial, or an application for a certificate of factual innocence.”
In addition, the legislation provides that if a district attorney or the attorney general stipulates to or does not contest the factual allegations for granting the writ or motion to vacate a judgment, that it is binding on the board.
“That was important,” Starr said.
Last year alone, four of six exoneree claims were approved, Strumpfer said, acknowledging that the legislation has increased the number of approvals.
Last year, another piece of legislation became law in which the daily rate of compensation went from $100 to $140, with pretrial incarceration time counted, according to Starr, noting that people can serve a long time in custody even before going to trial.
Strumpfer said the claim form is “pretty basic,” requiring presentation of findings of factual evidence.
“It kinda turns criminal justice on its head,” he said, explaining that the claimants have to prove their innocence to get compensated.
He said board staff reviews every claim to make sure it's filed within the required time frame, and that it's complete. If the board doesn't get all the needed documentation, staff will contact the claimant and get the additional information.
He said they see a writ filed by a district attorney – such as in Jones' case – “once in a great while.”
Starr added of Luther Jones' situation, “This case is a little unusual,” because the district attorney brought the matter forward and said Jones was innocent, with the judge acting on that work.
“We already have the state representing that Mr. Jones is innocent,” Starr said, which should mean that his claim for compensation should be an easy and straightforward case.
Strumpfer said the state Attorney General's Office has 60 days to review and respond to claims. He said cases that get denied lack a finding of factual innocence.
Where there is a factual finding of innocence, Stumpfer said the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board's staff writes up a proposed decision for the board's approval to recommend approval of claim to send to the Legislature.
The three-member board then votes on the proposed decision. Strumpfer said the board currently includes California Government Operations Agency Secretary Marybel Batjer, State Controller Betty Yee and the governor's appointee Michael Ramos, the district attorney for San Bernardino County.
Once a claim is approved, it will be included in one of two bills the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board sponsors annually. From there, it goes to the Legislature, which must vote to appropriate the money from the state general fund, to the governor for a signature and, finally, claims are sent to the State Controller's Office for payment, Strumpfer said.
He said the bills usually go through the Legislature in April or May, with the board telling claimants that approved claims will be payed by late summer or early fall.
While 60 days hasn't yet passed for Luther Jones to file his claim, considering the struggles the Jones family is facing, as well as Luther Jones' ill health, Starr said of his claim, “If ever there was a case for there to be an expedited consideration of one, this is the case.”
Carter added that she hopes Jones' claim will be paid immediately. “It's really in his best interest to have it paid right away.”
However, due to the fact that the legislation is set to go to the Legislature any day, “It will be a close call” as far as getting Jones' claim into this year's compensation bill, Strumpfer said.
If the claim is filed sometime in the next week or so, it could make it. Otherwise, Strumpfer said Jones would have to wait until next year to have his claim go before the Legislature.
Said Carter, “I think an optimal outcome is Luther gets lots of meaningful time with this family, without the burden of gigantic, cumbersome medical bills, without being a financial drain on his family,” and to be able to meaningfully reintegrate into the family and make up for lost time.
“For that to happen, the state needs to uphold its obligation to pay his claim quickly,” she said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Sunday saw more heavy rainfall across Lake County, with forecasters predicting still more rain this week.
The National Weather Service reported 24-hour rainfall totals ending at 1 a.m. Sunday that ranged from 2.60 inches of rain at Bear Canyon in Middletown to 1.54 inches in Kelseyville, 1.31 inches in Lakeport, 1.30 inches in Upper Lake and 1.17 inches in Middletown.
The rain continued to improve the level of Clear Lake, which as of 1 a.m. Sunday was at 5.6 feet Rumsey, compared with 5.19 feet on Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey.
The National Weather Service reported that while one storm is exiting the region, another is on its way in.
The biggest impact from this second storm, forecasters said, will be over the mountains, where there will be impacts including high snowfall rates and gusty winds.
In other areas, creeks and streams are anticipated to be running high, with the possibility of localized flooding, according to the forecast.
On Monday in Lake County there are chances of showers again, with totals estimated at up to a tenth of an inch, with rain expected to continue through the week.
The forecast also calls for light winds and temperatures in the low 30s at night and high 50s during the day, according to the forecast.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
