Amador County - The Amador Fire Protection District has released its latest batch of incident response statistics. A total of 121 incidents were responded to in October. As is common in fire district response patterns, the majority, or 69 of these were medical aid related and 14 were vehicle accidents. These numbers accounted for 68 percent of the total incidents. 11 of the incidents were fire related: 3 were structure fires, 1 was a chimney fire, 2 were vehicle fires and 5 were wildland fires. 51 percent of the total calls occurred between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Three Ione residents were sentenced to prison, the latest yesterday afternoon, for their involvement in a Jackson Valley Road methamphetamine lab. Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe announced the latest sentencing resulting from four arrests in April at two adjoining properties on Jackson Valley Road in a remote part of Ione. Patrick Lee Chandler, 53, of Ione was sentenced Thursday to 270 days in jail, followed by 5 years of supervised probation. Chandler was convicted of possessing pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. His brother, Daniel Carl Chandler, 50, also of Ione, was convicted of the same charges June 12th, but died while before sentencing. Daniel Chandler was out of police custody at the time of his death. Jeffery Lee Andel, 47, of Ione, was sentenced on August 8th to 3 years in state prison. Andel was convicted June 12th of manufacturing meth and possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture meth. Penny Susan Wilson, 58, also of Ione, was convicted of the same charges and was sentenced July 17 to 4 years and 4 months in state prison. Riebe in a release said the drug, pseudoephedrine is a common primary ingredient of meth and federal law limits the purchase of products containing pseudoephedrine to no more than 3.6 grams per customer per day. An investigation by the Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team revealed that the defendants worked in teams to purchase quantities of pseudoephedrine-based medicine from different pharmacies in Amador County. On multiple occasions they purchased more than three times the legal limit. On April 25, agents executed a search warrant at the two Jackson Valley Road properties. The search found glass and plastic containers with acetone, ammonia and red phosphorus, plus gas and liquid cylinders and a container of crushed pseudoephedrine pills. Authorities also seized four firearms, including a loaded shotgun. A hazardous material team assisted with cleaning the property after the police investigation.

The Amador County Combined Narcotic Enforcement Team, or ACCNET, has announced the latest in a series of illegal drug busts in Amador County. On Tuesday, August 12, ACCNET, assisted by the Amador County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, eradicated an illegal commercial marijuana cultivation site on private property located near Highway 88 and Buena Vista Road in Ione. ACCNET had received information about the marijuana cultivation site in July and conducted surveillance of the location. Surveillance revealed that the cultivation was being tended to by a Mexican national drug trafficking organization. The Amador County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team was utilized to secure the grow site from possibly armed growers. No suspects were found at the location, but a small camp with fresh food and ammunition was discovered. A total of 800 marijuana plants were eradicated from four separate garden sites. Later that same day, ACCNET Agents eradicated a separate marijuana cultivation site located on private property near Lower Jackson Valley Road and Highway 88. A total of 31 marijuana plants, some reaching as high as 9-feet tall, were confiscated from the location. A suspect believed to be involved in this grow has been identified and both investigations are ongoing.

The Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team, or ACCNET, has just released the details of two major drug and weapons busts in the local area. On Friday April 4, 2008, as part of an on-going investigation, members of ACCNET, assisted by the Calaveras Narcotics Enforcement Unit, were conducting surveillance of a confirmed Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization methamphetamine laboratory site located in a rural ranch east of San Andreas in Calaveras County. Surveillance units identified two vehicles suspected to be associated with the lab. That afternoon, one of the vehicles was detained at the intersection of Sadie Lane and Doster Road as it attempted to leave the area. Four suspects, one of whom was only 17-years old, were detained and then arrested. A search of the lab site revealed evidence of the on-going manufacture of methamphetamine, miscellaneous chemicals necessary for the manufacture of methamphetamine and 1.2 pounds of processed marijuana. Also seized from the site was a dismantled clandestine laboratory with the production capability of 10 to 20 pounds per cook process. This site had been active for approximately 3 years and connected to several dump sites that were found in the vicinity of the lab. The site also contained a make-shift green house containing fifteen marijuana plants. While processing the lab site, the owner of the property was contacted, interviewed and subsequently arrested. In addition, on Friday, April 25, ACCNET agents assisted by Amador County Sheriff’s Deputies, El Dorado County Sheriff’s Deputies, Calaveras Narcotics Enforcement Unit and the Amador County Probation Department served search warrant and arrest warrants at 6578 Jackson Valley Rd in Ione. At the main residence, two suspects were detained, interviewed and subsequently arrested. Documents supporting their involvement in a conspiracy to purchase precursor chemicals for the manufacture of methamphetamine, a loaded handgun, a French military rifle and two shotguns were located. What was most bizarre was a tree house located on the property that had been converted into a one bedroom studio. Two more suspects were found and arrested in the tree house. The Calaveras Sheriff’s Department Hazardous Materials Response Unit and the California Department of Justice processed the laboratory evidence. Amador County Environmental Health Department responded to access the site for chemical contamination and remediation of the property. 

Amador County - Local officials are questioning a federal ruling in support of the release of tens of thousands of prisoners from California’s prison system. A panel of federal judges issued the temporary order to allow the release of 57,000 inmates, citing conditions so poor that inmates regularly die from a lack of proper care and inadequate medical facilities. Governor Schwarzenegger said the conditions constitute cruel and unusual punishment. “Evidence offered at trial was overwhelmingly to the effect that overcrowding is the primary cause of the unconstitutional conditions that have been found to exist in the California prisons,” wrote the judges. The Judges want the state to trim its prison population in half over the next three years. Prison overcrowding has become a serious issue in state prisons such as Mule Creek near Ione, where inmates have been sleeping in 3-tier bunk beds in the prison gymnasium. The facility was originally built for 1700 inmates, but currently is holding over 4000. California’s prison population is now about 158,000, well above the 84,000 for which they were designed. Tuolumne County Sheriff Jim Mele, who presides over the region near the Sierra Conservation Center, wonders who will take over the monitoring of parolees and what will happen in the state’s inmate firefighting program. He said the measure will endanger public safety. Proponents of the decision say that the estimated $35,000 it costs to house an inmate for one year is money being thrown away, and there has been no reduction in the crime rate. "We're confident that not only can it be reduced safely, but if the governor spends the billion dollars he would save from reducing the prison population into crime prevention programs, it would actually make the community safer than it is now," said Don Spencer, Prison Law Office director. Another concern is prison staff reductions. Ione has developed a codependency with Mule Creek State Prison and the Preston Youth Facility that has turned Ione into a “company town”, said Supervisor Richard Forster. In reference to the proposed closure of Preston Youth Facility by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Forster said Preston and Mule Creek have become local institutions. “Preston is high on the list of potential closures, and if it were to close it would have a devastating impact on Ione and Amador County,” said Forster. There is no word yet as to when the order would be implemented. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - The Amador County Sheriff’s Office has just released some unfortunate news in the missing person search for Stephen Joseph Melvin, 62, of Pioneer. On Saturday February 7 Melvin was found, deceased, approximately 1200 meters North of Shake Ridge Road east of Charleston Road in Volcano. The search for Melvin began Wednesday February 4, 2009 in the area of Shake Ridge Road, after his vehicle was found parked in the area. Melvin reportedly frequented this area to fly his radio controlled aircraft. Searchers first found clothing identified as Melvin’s, then the radio controlled aircraft which had apparently crashed, and subsequently, Melvin was located. There was no evidence of foul play or any suspicious circumstances. A forensic examination of Melvin is being scheduled by the Amador County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office to assist in determining the cause and manner of death. The Amador County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank and acknowledge all that assisted the Amador County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue including the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, the Marin County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, the California Highway Patrol, the Ione City Fire Department Rehab Unit, the Amador County Red Cross, the California Rescue Dog Association, Amador County Public Works and the Auxiliary Communication Services. Staff Report (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - The El Dorado National Forest Service announced yesterday that it anticipates burning 135 acres of El Dorado National Forest lands located south of Omo Ranch Road and 5 miles west of Highway 88 on Scott Creek. The location is just North of Fiddletown on the Amador County border with El Dorado County. Recent burns in this area caused some alarm when unexpected wind patterns shifted huge billows of smoke into the Plymouth and River Pines area, creating a hazy fog. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, but according to Kristi Schroeder, Assistant Public Affairs Officer with the El Dorado Forest, unpredictable wind patterns can carry smoke great distances. “There’s a whole set of variables that we look at before each burn, including fuel moistures, humidity and temperatures,” she said after receiving dozens of phone calls from alarmed residents during a prescribed burn last November. The Forest Service insists that residents are in no danger from the fire. “Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem,” said Jennifer Boyd, Fuels Specialist. “Prescribed burning allows us to reintroduce it back into the forest under carefully controlled conditions after 100 years of fire suppression resulting in a healthier and safer forest,” she added. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, and efforts will be taken to reduce actual or potential smoke impacts on community areas. For more information on the Fuels Projects on national forest land planned for this fall and winter visit our website at www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado. To be added to the smoke notification list contact Jennifer Boyd, Forest Fuels Specialist, at 530- 622-5061. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - A man suspected of vehicle theft fled after an Amador County Sheriff’s Deputy approached him during a routine patrol Saturday, January 3 in Plymouth. During a patrol of the Shenandoah Valley area, the deputy approached a suspicious-looking white truck in a remote area off of Bell Road. As the deputy came close to the vehicle door, the driver drove down a rocky, wooded trail, before abandoning the truck after failing to navigate a high dirt barrier in the road. The encounter evolved into a full-fledged, cooperative manhunt between Amador, El Dorado and California Highway Patrol officers. Despite additional help from CHP air support, the suspect had all but vanished into the woods. Upon further investigation, it was determined that the pickup truck had been stolen from the Placerville area earlier that morning. The suspect is still at large and the investigation is ongoing. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County – Two local businessman reported what seemed to be another rash of window vandalism Tuesday night on Sutter Hill and in Jackson. Mark Borchin, owner of Glass Doctor in Martell, said he had received 17 calls from people with windows broken on vehicles and some storefronts around Amador County, the second such incident reported in the last week. A vandal or vandals reportedly struck last Saturday night in downtown Sutter Creek. Borchin said he fixed windows at Backroads Café and the antique shop next door. This time, reports are mostly broken back windows and side windows of vehicles left parked mostly between Broad Street and Clinton Road in Jackson. Authorities asked him to notify them if he comes across any evidence he finds when cleaning up the shattered windows. He said the “more evidence they have, the more helpful it will be for them to prosecute the perpetrators.” Mike Sweeney, Executive Director of ARC of Amador & Calaveras County, said ARC also sustained damage to vehicle windows Tuesday night. The rear windows of two white transportation vans were window-less Tuesday afternoon. Borchin said he made an appointment to make the repairs today, Thursday, December 4th. He has 4 technicians and himself as backup in case they can’t do all the jobs that come in. He said people sometimes must have appointments made because of the varied specifications of car windows. Specs include year, make, model, number of doors, hatch back, color, whether it has a heat element. Borchin said “6,000 pieces of automotive glass are available – it’s just too hard to have all those pieces here on the shelf. We have it all out at the warehouse,” in Sacramento. He said they had received reports from the Jackson Rancheria, the Rancheria apartment complex, a business next door to Umpqua Bank and one each in Camanche and Plymouth. Jackson Police Department said it would release information today on the incident. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Amador County - The Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team, or ACCNET, is celebrating its first successful year of operation in Amador County, and Sheriff’s office statistics show they’ve been keeping busy. “Taking into consideration the operational and administrative needs to bring the team into full operation, ACCNET has had (a number of) successes during its first year of operations,” said Undersheriff James Wegner in a press release. Most notable of these accomplishments are 100 felony arrests, 4 major methamphetamine laboratory seizures and the infiltration of 21 illicit marijuana growing operations. More than 10,400 marijuana plants were confiscated and destroyed during these busts. Another staggering statistic is the volume of drugs and weapons confiscated here in Amador County. Just over 105 pounds of marijuana, a half-pound of methamphetamine, a half gallon of hash oil and approximately 5, 315 different types of pills were among the drugs confiscated. A total of 42 weapons were seized and 90 searches conducted. ACCNET is a multi-agency narcotics enforcement team dedicated to fighting what has become one of the largest law enforcement issues throughout the foothill region in the past decade. ACCNET’s team is comprised of members from a nine separate Amador County and statewide law enforcement agencies, including the District Attorney’s Office, Amador County Child Protective Services, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department of Justice, the Highway Patrol and the Ione, Jackson and Sutter Creek Police Departments. The agency was the brainchild of Sheriff Martin Ryan and receives operational funding through the Anti-Drug Abuse and California Multi-Jurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team grants. ACCNET completed its first year on November 1st. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).