News Archive (6192)
By Jim Reece - Armed officers from the Jackson Police Department startled Jackson residents at Bank of Amador Wednesday night when answering an alarm sounding at the bank on Main Street. A witness said two officers with rifle and pistol drawn approached the bank building. A Jackson Police Department dispatcher said the response was standard after 6 p.m. when no one is on duty at the bank. The alarm went off at 6 p.m. and responders were under a radio silence approach when responding. The call was a false alarm.
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By Jim Reece - An armed robbery shook the solace of Amador County Monday night, with three agencies searching Jackson for the suspect. At around 8:11 p.m. Monday, Jackson Police Department responded to a reported armed robbery at Papa Murphys Pizza, 777 Highway 49 in Jackson. Captain Christy Stidger in a release said Jackson police contacted the lone Papa Murphys Employee, who said a male entered the store, walked up to the counter and demanded money. The male suspect reportedly simulated a weapon beneath his clothing. The employee removed an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register and handed it over to the suspect. The suspect then fled the scene. Jackson police officers along with responders from the CHP, Amador County Sheriff’s Deputies and Sutter Creek Police Department combed the area, looking for the suspect with negative results. Responders included Sutter Creek City Manager and Police Chief Rob Duke, who responded to the call with another Sutter Creek officer. The two took the call while Sutter Creek’s City Council was in session, ran out of the meeting room and left the area with sirens running. The case is still under investigation with leads being followed. Anyone with information about the robber is urged to call the Jackson Police Department at 223-1771.
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By Jim Reece - Local fugitive the “White Owl,” Albert Carl Fernandez, was captured near the Amador-El Dorado County line last week with the help of the Amador County Combined Narcotic Enforcement Team. The Amador Narcotic Team assisted the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office and the El Dorado County Code Enforcement Unit in conducting a building code compliance inspection of several small buildings and camping tents along the Cosumnes River off Bootstrap Way, between Amador and El Dorado counties. El Dorado Code Enforcement had conducted inspections in past years and found health and county building code violations, including marijuana cultivation. Law enforcement personnel conducted a sweep of the encampment but found no one inside the small, makeshift shacks. In one shack, the narcotics enforcement team and El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office teams discovered multiple syringes, methamphetamine injecting paraphernalia, marijuana growing materials, drying marijuana plants and enforcement and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports in the name of Albert Fernandez. During the search of this shack, a male subject was seen running from an area adjacent to the encampment. The male subject ran toward perimeter personnel, who gave chase on foot. The subject subsequently surrendered to narcotics enforcement team personnel who were pursuing him. The male subject confirmed his identity as Albert Carl Fernandez, 52, also known as “White Owl”, the long-time Parolee at Large from West Point. A search of the encampment resulted in the seizure of 16 marijuana plants and the posting of five of the shacks as not fit for human occupation by the El Dorado County Code Enforcement Unit. Fernandez was arrested for Parole Violation, Cultivation of Marijuana, Possession of Hypodermic Syringes and was booked at the El Dorado County Jail.
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Two other fires broke out in the foothills over the Labor Day Weekend. CAL FIRE’s Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit was on the front line. Authorities in Placer County fought a 500-acre fire Monday that was 80 percent contained as of Tuesday morning. The Gladding Fire burned northeast of Lincoln, and 12 agencies responded, including CAL FIRE, Placer County Fire and the City of Lincoln Fire Department. The fire drew 40 engines, 7 fire crews, 2 bulldozers, 2 helicopters and 4 water tenders. The Gladding Fire destroyed 3 homes and 10 outbuildings and threatened 20 homes and 20 outbuildings. Full containment was expected by midnight Tuesday. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Alpine County and regional firefighters also fought a 204-acre wildland fire that started Sunday afternoon in Hope Valley, south of South Lake Tahoe. The Burnside Wildland Fire drew 183 personnel, 2 air tankers, 4 helicopters, 6 hand crews, 16 engines and 8 command staff. The fire was 50 percent contained Tuesday, with expected containment by 6 p.m. today (Wednesday, Sept. 3). The cause is still under investigation. By Tuesday, evacuation orders had been lifted at area resorts, residences and campgrounds.
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Consistent with previous years, the Amador Fire Protections District’s response numbers are increasing steadily over the course of the summer. The latest statistics reveal that the AFPD responded to a total of 176 incidents during the month of July. 98 of these were medical aid related, while 29 responses were to vehicle accidents. Combined, these two numbers equaled 72 percent of the total incident responses. Of the total responses, only 6 were fire related. There was one structure fire, 1 vehicle fire, and 4 wild land fires. 50 percent of the total calls occurred between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.
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The Jackson Police Department, along with both Sutter Creek and Ione Police Departments and the Amador County Sheriff’s Department, has been awarded new light trailers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The trailers were awarded as part of a special equipment acquisition through the department. Lynne Olson, Coordinator for the Amador County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services, administered the acquisition. The main purpose of the light trailers is to light any nighttime emergency scene regardless of whether it is law enforcement or fire related. According to Police Chief Scott Morrison, “they will turn any night time scene into a daylight scene.” However, they have numerous other functions. Each light trailer comes equipped with a high powered generator that has a continuous run-time of 60 to 100 hours before refueling is necessary. Because of the efficiency of the generator, the trailers can be used to provide electrical current to the individual police stations in case of an emergency. The newly awarded agencies will also have the responsibility of loaning out the trailers to any other government entity that requests them for any large emergency or disaster. 
An example cited by Police Chief Morrison noted that the Jackson Police Department provides extra lighting every year after the fireworks to light the way for pedestrians crossing Highway 49 from Hoffman Street. With the newly acquired trailer it will be much easier and much safer to provide the services needed in each of the cities, he said. Morrison informed the Jackson City Council of the award Monday night at their meeting and stated that “[the police department] is very happy to receive this equipment.”
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Amador County - The Amador County Combined Narcotic Enforcement Team, or ACCNET, and the Mule Creek State Prison Investigative Services Unit have concluded a two month investigation involving the smuggling of heroin into the prison. According to the Sheriff’s Department, the smuggling was being done by resident Marcelina Penunuri and inmate Daniel Misquez. Based upon the investigation, ACCNET agents served a search warrant for Penunuri’s person for hidden drugs when she arrived at the prison on Sunday, January 18, 2009. They seized three toy balloons containing a total of 11.3 grams of heroin. ACCNET agents conducted a follow up search of her residence at 760 Beardsley Street in West Sacramento. Seized from the residence were 2.6 grams of marijuana that was packaged for sale, scales, packaging material, a box of .25 caliber ammunition that was hidden in a dirty clothes basket, ballistic body armor, gang paraphernalia, and 15.1 grams of heroin hidden inside a child’s teddy bear. Penunuri was booked at Amador County Jail for conspiracy to smuggle heroin into state prison, possession of heroin for sale, and possession of marijuana for sale. Misquez was placed in administrative housing at Mule Creek State Prison pending formal charging. Staff Report (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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Amador County - Early Sunday morning was no vacation for area firefighters who were called to the scene of a major structure fire in the Buckhorn area. Fire personnel arrived at 26472 Luttrell Court five minutes after the 7:45 am dispatch. Firefighters quickly controlled the fire and damage was confined to the residence, which was a total loss, with minimal spread and damage to the adjacent garage structure. The fire was contained less than an hour later at 8:30am. The owner of the 1100 foot structure and the family that resides there were both out of the area at the time of the incident. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Agencies involved included Amador Fire Protection District 10, CAL FIRE, and the American Legion Ambulance Service. A total of four fire engines, 1 water tender, 1 air support unit and 16 personnel were involved in fighting the blaze. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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Amador County - Due to the onset of cool, rainy weather, the Bureau of Land Management’s Folsom Field Office has lifted emergency fire restrictions on all BLM-managed public lands within its boundary effective Tuesday. This includes BLM-managed public lands in Amador, Nevada, Yuba, Placer, El Dorado, Sacramento, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Sutter and Mariposa counties, a total of about 230,000 acres. According to Brian Mulhollen, BLM Folsom fuels management specialist, there is no longer a need for emergency restrictions because of cooler, wet weather. However, some requirements such as campfire permits remain in place. Campfire permits and additional information is available at the BLM Folsom Office, 63 Natoma St., Folsom. For additional information, contact BLM's Folsom Field Office at (916) 985-4474. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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Amador County - The results are in from the Second Annual Firefighters Fundraiser in Ione. Ione City Treasurer Sharon Long was pleased to announce Monday that monetary contributions exceeded expectations. Over 300 community members gathered on October 24th at the Big Red Barn at Rancho Arroyo Seco for a fundraiser and BBQ. When all was said and done the total contributions raised to support Ione Fire Fighters were over 10,000 dollars- an amount that Rancho Arroyo Seco had already agreed to match for a grand total of 20,000 dollars towards new structural protective gear for the department. Supporters of the event wasted no time when it came to having fun. Kids jumped their way through the evening in a bounce house and delighted in preparing roasted marshmallows for s’mores. Adults enjoyed live music, raffle and a silent auction. Long summed up the spirit of the event, saying: “We are fortunate to have such a dedicated force of men and women who care for their community and volunteer time to provide emergency services. Ione is proud to have the best trained and staffed fire department in Amador County.” Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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