LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 55th quilt block to be installed on the Lake County Quilt Trail is located at 870 Main St. in Lakeport.

The Law Office of Dennis A Fordham is proud to present the “Dresden Plate.”

It represents both prosperity and thriftiness; combining the utilization of even the smallest pieces with layers of detail to create a beautiful cohesive whole.

No matter how simple or complex, each Dresden Plate quilt block is highly individual and unique, much like the trusts he creates for his clients.

The Lake County Quilt Trail is an agricultural and tourism project designed to promote community pride.

The 8-foot by 8-foot quilt block was drawn and painted by the Lake County Quilt Trail team, a group of dedicated quilters, graphic artists, painters, writers, carpenters and a videographer.

For more information about the Lake County Quilt Trail visit www.lakecountyquilttrail.com or go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-Quilt-Trail/187014251326163 .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 54th quilt block to be installed on the Lake County Quilt Trail is located at People Services Inc., located at 870 11th St. in Lakeport.

The teaming up of Ilene Dumont and Michelle Figg has made this lovely “Star Cross” quilt block come to fruition.

Figg is honoring the memory of her grandmother, Vera Perkins. Dumont, Figg's sister-in-law and director of People Services, wanted her building to be part of the quilt trail.

Together they coordinated a solution to meet their needs.

The clients of People Services chose their favorite quilt blocks and colors, and Figg chose the religious symbol “Star Cross” because Grandma Vera was a religious person and loved the color purple.

People Services' clients, Dumont and Figg all are very pleased with their quilt block.

In 1993 Linda and Mike Gossett acquired this site specifically for People Services Inc. to provide a licensed day program for adults with developmental disabilities.

Upon completion in 1994, People Services Inc. moved into their building, and the organization has been there for 20 years.

The Lake County Quilt Trail is an agricultural and tourism project designed to promote community pride.

The 8-foot by 8-foot quilt block was drawn and painted by the Lake County Quilt Trail team, a group of dedicated quilters, graphic artists, painters, writers, carpenters and a videographer.

For more information about the Lake County Quilt Trail visit www.lakecountyquilttrail.com or go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-Quilt-Trail/187014251326163 .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – One man was flown to a trauma center Thursday evening following a head-on crash that temporarily closed Bottle Rock Road.

The crash was first reported shortly before 6:30 p.m. by the California Highway Patrol.

Reports from the scene indicated a gray Ford Explorer and a rust-colored SUV collided head-on in the area of Bottle Rock Road and Kahms Lane, near Moore Family Winery.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli said the driver of the red SUV, the vehicle's sole occupant, had to be extricated.

The man suffered major injuries and was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Bertelli said.

Bertelli did not report any injuries for the two occupants of the Explorer, who he said were not transported.

Cal Fire, South Lake County Fire and Kelseyville Fire all responded to the scene, Bertelli said.

The CHP said traffic had been blocked at Harrington Flat.

The County Road Department was called to help clean up gas and oil on the roadway, according to Bertelli.

Bertelli expected Bottle Rock Road to be reopened at around 9 p.m., once the roadway cleanup was complete.

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.

Years ago, in 2008 and 2009 an eerie quiet descended on the sun.

Sunspot counts dropped to historically-low levels and solar flares ceased altogether.

As the longest and deepest solar minimum in a century unfolded, bored solar physicists wondered when “Solar Max” would ever return.

They can stop wondering.

“It's back,” said Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center. “Solar Max has arrived.”

Pesnell is a leading member of the NOAA/NASA Solar Cycle Prediction Panel, a blue-ribbon group of solar physicists who meet from time to time to forecast future solar cycles.

It's not as easy as it sounds. Although textbooks call it the “11-year solar cycle,” the actual cycle can take anywhere from 9 to 14 years to complete.

Some Solar Maxes are strong, others weak, and, sometimes, as happened for nearly 70 years in the 17th century, the solar cycle can vanish altogether.

Pesnell points to a number of factors that signal Solar Max conditions in 2014: “The sun's magnetic field has flipped; we are starting to see the development of long coronal holes; and, oh yes, sunspot counts are cresting.”

Another panelist, Doug Bieseker of the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, agreed with Pesnell: “Solar Maximum is here …. Finally.”

According to an analysis Bieseker presented at NOAA's Space Weather Workshop in April, the sunspot number for Solar Cycle 24 is near its peak right now.

They agree on another point, too: It is not very impressive.

“This solar cycle continues to rank among the weakest on record,” said Ron Turner of Analytic Services Inc. who serves as a Senior Science Advisor to NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program.

To illustrate the point, he plotted the smoothed sunspot number of Cycle 24 vs. the previous 23 cycles since 1755.

“In the historical record, there are only a few Solar Maxima weaker than this one,” Turner said.

As a result, many researchers have started calling the ongoing peak a “Mini-Max.”

Pesnell believes that “Solar Cycle 24, such as it is, will probably start fading by 2015.”

Ironically, that is when some of the bigger flares and magnetic storms could occur.

Biesecker has analyzed historical records of solar activity and he finds that most large events such as strong flares and significant geomagnetic storms typically occur in the declining phase of solar cycles – even weak ones.

Indeed, this “Mini-Max” has already unleashed one of the strongest storms in recorded history.

On July 23, 2012, a plasma cloud or “CME” rocketed away from the sun as fast as 3000 km/s, more than four times faster than a typical eruption.

The storm tore through Earth orbit, but fortunately Earth wasn't there. Instead it hit NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft, which recorded the event for analysis.

Researchers now believe the eruption was as significant as the iconic Carrington Event of 1859 – a solar storm that set telegraph offices on fire and sparked Northern Lights as far south as Hawaii.

If the 2012 “superstorm” had hit Earth, the damage to power grids and satellites would have been significant.

It all adds up to one thing: “We're not out of the woods yet,” said Pesnell.

Even a “Mini-Max” can stir up major space weather – and there's more to come as the cycle declines.

To see the Solar Mini-Max ScienceCast, visit http://youtu.be/8Ha7X6dWVQE .

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Lakeshore Lions Club is preparing for the 57th annual Redbud Parade and Festival slated for July 5.

The event will feature a procession down Lakeshore Drive followed by a day-long festival at Austin Park, culminating with fireworks at dusk.

Participants are being sought for the parade, vendor faire and the 15th annual “Show and Shine Car Show.”

“This is the largest fundraiser for the Lakeshore Lions Club, so please show your community spirit and support by helping us raise money for all the many causes we assist,” Ray Bridges, parade chairman, said.

“We support the eye glasses and vision care programs for the needy, high school sports, scholarships and many other school activities; our local fire and police departments, the senior center, community patrol, Boy Scouts, Southshore Little League and so many other notable causes,” Bridges said.

The theme of this year's parade is “Time Travel.”

It will launch at 11 a.m. from Redbud Park and proceed down Lakeshore Drive to the festival at Austin Park.

The procession will feature local marchers, kinetic contraptions, decorated floats, vintage cars, parade and show horses and emergency vehicles with the crowd-favorite Fire Foleys team bringing up the rear.

Along with games and entertainment for all, the Lakeshore Lions and Lioness will offer an assortment of food, cold drinks and beer at the festival in the park. Arts and craft vendors and merchants from near and far will also offer their goods.

In addition, the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce will host the International Worm Races for participants of all ages.

Free parking will be available at Haverty Field, just east of Austin Park.

Rejoining this year's festivities will be a carnival midway. Schoeppner Shows Carnival will roll into town with games and rides in time for its opening on July 3. It will run through July 6 at Austin Park Resort.

Pre-sale, unlimited rides wristbands are now available for $20 at Tatonka Land and Clearlake Automotive, both located on Lakeshore Drive.

“Everyone loves a carnival. Come down and enjoy the fun,” Bridges said.

Entry forms for the parade and the car show are available at the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, Bob's Vacuum, Clearlake Automotive, Kevin Ness Jewelers and Tatonka Land.

Vendors interested in securing a booth, should contact Bob Kiel at 707-994-9752.

Those who would like to get in on the car show, should contact Kevin Ness at 707-994-2307.

For more information regarding the parade, contact Bridges at 707-994-3070 or visit www.lakeshorelions.org .

Email Denise Rockenstein at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Lower Lake man was seriously injured early Thursday when his motorcycle collided with a car on Highway 175 over the Hopland Grade.

Matthew P. Harrold, 56, sustained major injuries in the crash, which occurred at 6:50 a.m. west of Lakeport, according to the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office.

The CHP said Harrold was riding a 2013 KTM motorcycle westbound on Highway 175 about a mile inside the Lake County line when he attempted to pass a white utility truck over the solid double yellow lines in a blind curve.

Driving eastbound in a 1994 Ford Probe at the same time was Robert A. Hamby, 30, of Lucerne, the CHP said.

Because of the blind curve and what the CHP said was Harrold's unsafe speed, the motorcycle hit the front of Hamby's car.

The CHP said Hamby and his passenger, 36-year-old Jo Ann Cusimano of Lucerne, were uninjured. Both were wearing their seat belts.

Harrold was transported to Enloe Medical Center in Chico for treatment, the CHP 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.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Two Lakeport residents sustained injuries when their vehicles were involved in a head-on crash on Bottle Rock Road Thursday evening.

Cameron McLean, 32, was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of major injuries and Leah Jackman, 33, had minor injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office.

The CHP said the crash occurred at 6:25 p.m. on Bottle Rock Road west of Kahms Lane.

Jackman was driving a 1999 Ford Expedition eastbound on Bottle Rock Road at 45 miles per hour, the CHP said.

The CHP said Jackman crossed over the double yellow lines and collided head-on with a 2001 Subaru Forester driven by McLean, who was heading westbound.

McLean was trapped in the driver's seat and had to be extricated by firefighters. He was flown by CalStar air ambulance to Santa Rosa, according to the CHP.

Jackman was taken by ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment, the CHP reported.

The CHP said the crash also blocked both lanes of the road and stopped traffic temporarily.

Both Jackman and McLean were wearing their seat belts, the CHP said.

The crash remains under investigation, but the CHP said alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors in the crash.

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 service of a search warrant on Tuesday resulted in two arrests and the seizure of marijuana and concentrated cannabis.

Detectives arrested Lakeport residents Wade Aaron Knowles, 44, and 65-year-old Aldo Clolosardo, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Tuesday narcotics detectives secured a search warrant for a residence located in the 4000 block of Eickhoff Road in Lakeport, serving the warrant at 1:30 p.m. that day, Brooks said.

During the search warrant service, detectives located and detained Knowles and Clolosardo without incident, according to Brooks.

During the search detectives noticed one of the bedrooms inside the residence had been converted into a marijuana drying and processing area. Brooks said there were several marijuana plants which were hanging and drying inside the room.

Inside the bedroom closet, detectives located a vacuum sealer and packaging material and in the kitchen area Brooks said detectives located another vacuum sealer, packaging materials and several plastic bins containing marijuana shake.

Inside the bedroom Knowles identified as being his, detectives located additional packaging material. Brooks said they also found evidence that indicated Knowles was mailing marijuana to the East Coast.

Inside Knowles’ nightstand, several bags of concentrated cannabis were located and seized. The concentrated cannabis had a combined weight of 8.5 ounces. Brooks said detectives also located a cellular telephone on the nightstand, which contained text messages related to the sales of narcotics.

On the property, detectives located two large hoop-style greenhouses containing marijuana plants. There were also several marijuana plants growing outside in large planters, Brooks said.

Brooks said detectives also found and eradicated a total of 85 marijuana plants from the property, and seized 3 pounds of processed marijuana and 23 pounds of marijuana, which was unprocessed and still on the stem.

Both Knowles and Clolosardo were arrested for cultivating marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales. They were both transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.

Bail was set at $15,000 each, with jail records showing that they later posted the required percentage of bail and were released.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Narcotics detectives arrested a Clearlake Oaks man, seized 4,630 marijuana plants and approximately $50,780 following the service of multiple search warrants around the county that began last week.

Bobby Rex Goforth, 57, was arrested on June 6, according Sheriff's Lt. Steve Brooks.

On that day narcotics detectives secured a search warrant for a residence located in the 7000 block of Gross Road in Kelseyville, serving it shortly before 10:30 a.m. Brooks said detectives located and detained Goforth and 53-year-old Joy Alice Emry of Lakeport without incident.

Goforth told detectives that he was cultivating marijuana for a marijuana store front and received compensation for his time and expenses. Brooks said Goforth also said he had approximately 300 plants on the property and was unaware of the county code limiting the number of plants.

Detectives also spoke to Emry, who said she and Goforth were part of a co-op. She said they were growing marijuana for 17 people. Emry also said she was charging each person $100 per month for labor and expenses, according to Brooks.

Brooks said Emry estimated that each person would receive approximately 4 pounds of processed marijuana after the plants were harvested. Emry told detectives that if there was any marijuana left over, they were going to sell it to the store front.

During the search detectives located three large hoop-style greenhouses on the property. The greenhouses contained a total of 653 marijuana plants, which were eradicated, Brooks said. Detectives searched Goforth’s vehicle and located $8,590 cash, which was seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings.

Brooks said detectives also found electrical bill receipts for an address located in the 1500 block of Martin Street in Lakeport and for an address located in the 4500 block of Eickhoff Road in Lakeport. While researching the Martin Street address, detectives learned Goforth also had property located in the 10000 block of Diener Circle in Lower Lake.

Detectives secured both the Diener Circle and the Martin Street properties, pending the application for a search warrant, which they obtained. Brooks said the detectives served both search warrants on June 6.

At the Diener Circle address, detectives located 10 large hoop-style greenhouses. The greenhouses contained marijuana in various stages of growth. Brooks said there also was an indoor marijuana grow in the garage of the residence.

Detectives eradicated 2,713 marijuana plants from the property. During a search of the residence, detectives located approximately 60 pounds of processed marijuana, approximately 7 pounds of honey oil, a butane hash lab and $42,190 cash. Brooks said the processed marijuana, honey oil and hash lab were seized as evidence and the money was seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings.

During the search of the Martin Street address, detectives located a large indoor marijuana grow containing 741 marijuana plants in various stages of growth. There were also two large hoop-style greenhouses on the property, which Brooks said contained 333 flowering marijuana plants.

Detectives located 90 marijuana plants which were growing outside in pots on the property. A total of 1,164 marijuana plants were eradicated from the property. Inside the residence detective’s located two handguns and three rifles, which were seized as evidence, Brooks said.

On June 10, 2014 detectives secured a search warrant for the property located on Eickhoff Road in Lakeport, serving the warrant just after 12:30 p.m. that day, according to Brooks.

Brooks said they located three large hoop-style greenhouses on the property. During the search detectives located 17 flowering marijuana plants in one of the greenhouses and 83 marijuana plants which were growing outside. The other two greenhouses were empty and it appeared the plants had already been harvested.

Detectives located 10 pounds of processed marijuana which was seized as evidence and eradicated a total of 100 marijuana plants from the property, Brooks said.

Goforth was arrested for cultivating marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and manufacturing a controlled substance. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, Brooks said.

Jail records showed that his bail was set at $100,000, with Goforth later posting the required percentage of bail in order to be released.

Brooks said detectives have submitted the report to the District Attorney’s Office for complaint against Emry and expect additional arrests as their investigation continues.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – If voters in the Lakeport Unified School District could weigh in on the school construction projects they felt are most important – and should therefore be funded by a bond – what would they choose?

Finding out the answer to that question will be the work of consultant Greg Isom, who the district's board voted unanimously to hire at its Thursday night meeting.

Isom, of Walnut Creek-based Isom Advisors, has previously worked with the district, guiding it last year through the process of refinancing outstanding general obligation bonds from a $7.5 million measure voters approved in 2001.

The refinancing is saving the district's property owners an estimated $52,000 over a three-year period, as Lake County News has reported.

Isom said his firm is working with 15 school districts with proposed tax measures.

In his Tuesday night presentation, Isom went over economic and demographic information for the district, explaining that the tax base has gone down by 1 percent over the past year, and has showed four years of decline. However, he said the local reduction hasn't been like the negative tax base growth seen in the Central Valley.

Lakeport Unified's gross bonding capacity is $28.3 million, Isom said. After subtracting the $4.1 million outstanding from the 2001 bond, that means the district's current debt limit is $24.2 million.

He said the district has approximately 6,171 registered voters, of which 38 percent are Democrats, 34 percent are Republicans and 28 percent are “other.” Of those voters, 54 percent are vote-by-mail, or absentee.

The state's June primary saw 43 bond measures statewide, of which 33 percent were successful, Isom said.

“Voters are still supporting their schools,” he noted.

To be successful, Lakeport Unified needs to look at what people will support and when. To get that information, Isom said his firm will conduct a phone survey.

If that survey were to come back negative, he said there would be no point in putting a bond measure on the ballot.

In order to be ready for the survey, Isom said the district needs to prepare a list of proposed projects.

Superintendent Erin Smith-Hagberg offered a brief list of some of the district's facility needs, including replacement of portable classrooms that date from 1968, resurfacing the tennis courts, upgrading the weight room, improving classroom technology and moving the district's alternative schools.

Another project is bringing the Westshore Pool, built in 1973, up to state-required specifications.

Smith-Hagberg had told a group of city, county and Channel Cats swim team stakeholders during a meeting Thursday morning that the district did not have any funds earmarked for the pool's repairs in its 2014-15 fiscal year budget, and that the only way to afford the repairs was for the district to pursue a bond.

In the phone surveys, Isom said it will be important to get the overall voter feeling toward the district, ask if they agree with the projects on the list and what tax rate they would find acceptable.

“I have no idea about how your community is going to respond to anything in the survey,” Isom said.

Board Chair Phil Kirby asked how the survey would be developed and distributed.

Isom said all of the school bond surveys have similar language. He said he would craft a specific survey for Lakeport Unified and then hand it back to the administration for approval.

All of the surveys are conducted by phone. Isom said the goal is for the calls to accurately reflect the district's demographics.

Smith-Hagberg asked Isom about the process timeline.

Isom said they would have to have the survey done well ahead of Aug. 8, which is the last date the district could file for a bond measure with the county elections office.

If the district didn't make that deadline, Isom said the next earliest date it could put a measure before voters would be in November 2015.

The cost of the survey that the district will pay for is not to exceed $5,000, Isom said.

Jeff Hanson, representing the Channel Cats swim team, said that group had many volunteers to help promote a bond measure that would help improve the Westshore Pool.

“I think this is a good idea. I think our community will support it,” said Board Trustee Dennis Darling.

Darling suggested adding a clause to the contract between Isom and the district that will call for the agreement to be nullified if the district decides not to move forward with the work.

Trustee Tom Powers moved to approve the contract, with Tina Scott seconding and the board voting 5-0.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendocino County Health and Human Services Agency/Public Health has received confirmation of a case of whooping cough (Pertussis) in a local child.  

Public Health nursing staff members are conducting a contact investigation of persons who may have been exposed in collaboration with the Mendocino County Assistant Health Officer for Communicable Disease Dr Charles Evans.

HHSA Public Health reminds residents that whooping cough is a highly contagious but preventable disease and encourages everyone to be vaccinated through their primary care provider particularly pregnant women and children.  

Adults should be current with their booster shots to reduce the spread of the whooping cough. Booster shots for whooping cough are critical because, unlike some other vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, neither the whooping cough disease nor vaccine confers lifelong immunity.

It is important that both children and adults are up-to-date on their immunizations, health officials reported.

The symptoms of whooping cough vary by age. For children, cases of whooping cough typically start with a cough and runny nose for one to two weeks. The cough then worsens and children may have rapid coughing spells that end with a whooping sound.

Young infants may not have typical whooping cough symptoms and may have no apparent cough. Parents may describe episodes in which the infant’s face turns red or purple. For adults, whooping cough may simply be a cough illness that persists for several weeks.

To avoid the spread of whooping cough the California Department of Public Health recommends:

• Pregnant women receive a whooping cough vaccine booster during the third trimester of each pregnancy, even if they received it before.
• Infants can be vaccinated against whooping cough as soon as possible. The first dose is recommended at two months of age. Young children need five doses of pertussis vaccine by kindergarten (ages 4-6).
• California seventh grade students receive the whooping cough vaccine booster as required.
• Adults receive a whooping cough vaccine booster, especially if they are in contact with infants or are health care workers who may have contact with infants or pregnant women.

More information about whooping cough is available on the CDPH Web site, www.cdph.ca.gov , then click on the tab for “Health Information.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A man with a lengthy and violent criminal history – including a 1997 killing – has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for kidnapping and threatening a woman in late 2012 because he believed she had stolen marijuana from his nephew.

Charles Vasil Statler, 54, of Santa Rosa received the sentence on Monday from Judge Andrew Blum.

On April 17 – at the end of a trial that began about three weeks earlier – a jury convicted Statler of felony kidnapping, carjacking, vehicle theft, criminal threats, and having previous strikes and prison terms after only an hour and a half of deliberations, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who prosecuted Statler's case.

Statler’s defense attorney, Mitch Hauptman, declined comment on the case or its outcome.

Statler and two Clearlake Oaks men – James Daniel Austin and Ricky Lane McCullough – were arrested in January 2013 for the kidnapping of a 49-year-old woman the previous month, as Lake County News has reported.

Court documents show that the female victim reported to deputies that the three men used a pickup to block her vehicle as she was driving on Second Street in Upper Lake on the afternoon of Dec. 4, 2012. Statler pulled the woman from her vehicle and forcing her into the pickup, then took her car, with both vehicles leaving the scene.

For the next six to seven hours, she was driven to several locations around Lake County – including a remote area in Upper Lake where Statler was involved in a large marijuana growing operation – and showed a hole that she was told she would be put into if she didn't provide the information the men wanted, case documents explained.

She also had her fingers placed in a pair of pliers, and was threatened that she would have her fingers cut off. Statler and the two other men also drove the victim to other areas of the county, threatening to gang rape her, according to the investigation.

Statler, Austin and McCullough accused the woman – who acknowledged to law enforcement that she was working as a marijuana trimmer – of stealing 140 pounds of marijuana – valued at about $150,000 – from a third man, Robert Whitmire of Petaluma, Statler's nephew.

“There was never any evidence whatsoever that was the case,” said Hinchcliff of the marijuana theft allegations.

Later that night, the men took the victim back to her home and took a large amount of cash from her, based on the investigative reports.

In February McCullough pleaded no contest to false imprisonment and admitted a prior prison term, and was sentenced to four years in the county jail, case documents indicated.

In May, Austin pleaded to a charge of being an accessory to a felony, and was sentenced to 365 days in the county jail and three years' formal probation, according to court records.

Statler's criminal history includes an assault in Oregon; theft cases in Arizona, California and Texas; and the killing of 68-year-old retiree Raymond Churchill in Lake County in October 1997.

Case records showed Statler – who lived with Churchill in a trailer on Spruce Grove Road in Lower Lake – killed Churchill by hitting him in the head multiple times with a steel skillet. He hit Churchill so hard that it fractured his skull, broke his spine and severed the skillet handle.

Statler claimed he killed Churchill in self-defense during a drunken argument. However, prosecutors suggested his actions after the killing showed intent.

According to the investigation, Statler had dumped Churchill's body in the Jerusalem Valley area near Middletown, concealing it in a manzanita thicket.

Statler then went about destroying evidence, including washing his own clothes, burning Churchill's clothing, and dismantling, burning and burying Churchill's Volkswagen station wagon.

Statler also took Churchill's ring and wore it, and used Churchill's ATM card to withdraw $591 from his account the day after the killing.

Then-District Attorney Gary Luck prosecuted Statler for Churchill's killing, winning a conviction for second-degree murder, grand theft and fraudulently using an access card in the case. In March 1999 Statler was sentenced to 18 years and eight months to life in state prison, according to case documents.

However, in 2005 an appeals court overturned Statler's murder conviction, and sent it back to Lake County for retrial. Luck offered Statler a plea agreement for voluntary manslaughter, which Statler accepted the following year.

Statler ended up getting a 13-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter. Records show he was paroled in the Churchill killing in August 2009.

The Monday sentencing is likely to keep Statler in prison for the remainder of his life.

Hinchcliff said Statler received 27 years and eight months, and due to the crimes' violent nature he must serve 85 percent of that term. He also was fined $8,960.

Correction: The original story said that the appeal court reduced Statler’s second-degree murder sentence. The court actually sent the case back for retrial. That is reflected in the corrected story above.

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.