By AMY GITTELSOHN
The dog barking case against Deputy District Attorney Eric Heryford was dismissed last Friday without a trial.
The trial was to be heard on that day before visiting Judge Larry Dier. Heryford was in the courtroom, but no one was present to speak for the other side.
Sheriff Lorrac Craig and Heryford’s neighbor in Junction City, Darrel Smith, had signed the infraction citation issued March 17 – but neither made it to the court hearing, and both told The Trinity Journal later they did not know it was scheduled.
Although the sheriff and animal control officer had been of the understanding that an attorney from the state Attorney General’s Office would step in to prosecute if Heryford were issued a citation and challenged it, the attorney general’s staff opted not to get involved with an infraction.
Animal Control Officer Christine Edwards was in court Friday, but when questioned by Judge Dier, Edwards said she was not a direct witness to the dog barking Heryford was cited for. She said the barking was heard by Smith and by sheriff’s office dispatchers who were on the phone with Smith when he called to complain.
Heryford asserted his right to a speedy trial, and Dier said he would have to dismiss the case.
Heryford – a candidate for Trinity County Superior Court judge – said Smith’s absence from the hearing was telling.
“All people have heard from for the last month or two is Mr. Smith, who had the time to write a letter to the editor full of a lot of misinformation and didn’t bother to show up at trial to testify,” Heryford said after the hearing. “I think that says a lot about his credibility.”
Smith said he heard about Friday’s hearing after the fact. “I was never notified or anything,” he said. “There should have been a continuance because the sheriff wasn’t there and nobody knew the court date.” [see complete article]

By SALLY MORRIS
County supervisors have voted unanimously in favor of a new county ordinance that limits how and where marijuana may be grown for medical use on properties located close to schools, parks, teen centers, childcare centers and school bus stops.
It was the second board hearing for the ordinance that prohibits the outdoor cultivation of marijuana plants within 500 feet of any school, park, teen center, childcare center or bus stop unless secured by solid fencing, enclosures, screening or other means to totally block the plants from view or access.
On parcels of land that are contiguous to schools, the ordinance establishes a no-grow zone that prohibits outdoor marijuana cultivation within 100 feet of the common property line. Beyond 100 feet on contiguous parcels, outdoor cultivation is allowed, but fencing is required and gardens are limited to what is permitted for one qualified medical marijuana patient or a caregiver cultivating marijuana for one patient.
First-time violations of the ordinance constitute a misdemeanor with a fine not to exceed $1,000, or a maximum sentence of six months in jail, or both. Second and subsequent violations are also subject to removal of the garden.
The ordinance was crafted by a committee appointed by the board of supervisors to address concerns expressed by school administrators and the County Board of Education about the board of supervisors’ 3-2 action last September that raised the local medical marijuana limits above the state’s minimum guidelines of six mature plants and 8 ounces of dried, processed marijuana.
The new policy permits medical marijuana patients and caregivers here to possess 3 pounds of processed marijuana and cultivate up to 12 mature plants and 24 immature plants. The school administrators voiced fear that the higher limits will result in greater youth access to marijuana, and they requested that the board at least establish a no-grow zone within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and other locations frequented by youth. [see complete article]

A rope is thrown out ahead of a “struggling swimmer” (at left in photo) in the Trinity River as part of a class on swift-water rescues. The class Saturday at Big Flat was organized by River Ranger Lou Jacobson and Dave Steinhauser and Dana Hord of Trinity River Rafting. Students included fishing guides, county employees, kayakers and volunteer firefighters. Hord said the instruction teaches about river hazards and gives water users confidence to help someone.

By AMY GITTELSOHN
Stating that 10 years and eight months in prison is not a sufficient sentence for taking the lives of four young people, a Trinity County judge rejected a plea bargain that had been agreed on by Cody Angus Baker’s defense attorney and the prosecutor.
On April 16, Judge Anthony Edwards was expected to sentence Baker—the driver in a fatal collision alleged to have been caused by drunken driving—under the terms of the plea agreement. But that is not what happened.
“We all understand that the loss of children in this case is devastating to a degree only a few people can imagine,” Edwards said to a courtroom packed with about 65 family members and friends of the victims and the defendant.
“There is no going on,” Edwards said. “It doesn’t get better. . . . Lives are changed forever.”
On the night of the wreck, Aug. 31, 2007, according to the California Highway Patrol, Baker was driving a car full of passengers on the Ruth-Zenia Road along the shore of Ruth Lake when he lost control and the car went off the road and down a steep embankment. It struck several large trees before coming to rest in the lake in 4 to 5 feet of water.
Four passengers died: Stevie Shroyer, 19, of Garberville; Stephanie Hubbard, 20, of Scotia; Nathan Titus, 21, of Ferndale; and Jessica Toste, 23, of Ferndale. Another passenger, 27-year-old Zackary Diamond of Rio Dell, had moderate injuries.
Baker’s blood alcohol level taken at a hospital several hours after the incident was reported to be .17 percent, more than twice the .08 percent threshold at which a driver is presumed to be driving drunk.
Baker, now 26, of Ferndale, had an earlier DUI conviction from 2003. Such prior convictions can open a defendant up to a second-degree murder charge if they are followed by a fatal DUI incident, and in this case that is how Baker was charged.
At an earlier court hearing, Edwards had tentatively accepted a plea agreement to lesser charges pending a probation report. The agreement would have meant dismissal of the second-degree murder charges, and convictions instead on four counts of felony vehicular manslaughter, plus the one count of felony driving under the influence causing injury. It was stipulated that Baker would be sentenced to the maximum term on the vehicular manslaughter counts, which adds up to 10 years, plus eight months for the other offense against the surviving passenger.
State sentencing laws pertaining to vehicular manslaughter reward individuals who take multiple lives, Judge Edwards said, noting that the maximum term for taking one life is six years, but each additional life only gets a maximum of 16 months. [see complete article]

By SALLY MORRIS
County Supervisors were divided last week on a request from the Lowden Aquatic Park Project (LAPP) to waive approximately $13,250 in county building and planning fees to be collected from the nonprofit group raising funds for this summer’s construction of a new community swimming pool in Weaverville that the county will own when completed.
The board took no action on the requested fee waiver, instead directing county staff to meet with LAPP representatives in hope of finding another solution that won’t involve a cost to the county’s general contingency fund or its difficult budget for next year.
LAPP President Graham Matthews said the group has raised just enough money to build the shell of a pool and children’s splash/play area this summer, with local contractors donating much of the labor for the mechanical room to house pool equipment, but a shortfall of $90,000 to $100,000 still remains to make the $750,000 project work.
“Our big fund-raisers are coming and we’ll get close, but $10,000 to $15,000 in building and planning fees is still significant and we’re asking the county to waive those,” Matthews said. [see complete article]

By SALLY MORRIS
Weaverville’s tree-lined streets are the pride and joy of many residents, but last winter’s heavy snow took a great toll on many of the century-old giants that cracked under the weight, shedding limbs onto streets and sidewalks and causing damage to parked vehicles and nearby structures in some cases.
Particularly hard-hit were the locust trees along Court Street, where three of the 140-year-old trees were recently removed by the Trinity County Department of Transportation, which deemed them as an extremely dangerous hazard in the county road right-of-way. Some of the other locust trees have been severely pruned to reduce the threat.
The situation has called into question the status of the county’s community tree advisory committee that was formed in 1999 by the board of supervisors to develop and annually update an administrative plan for the care, preservation, pruning, planting, replanting and removal of trees and shrubs in county-owned and managed areas.
In recent years, the committee has become relatively
inactive due in part to its lack of a budget to fund any work and the fact that the original four-year appointments of members have never been renewed.
The Board of Supervisors was asked last week by Clerk of the Board Wendy Tyler for direction on whether to reactivate and fund the tree committee’s work or not. [see complete article]

Jeremy Scott Mays

A vehicle stop by a deputy last week led to the arrest of a Hayfork man, recovery of thousands of dollars worth of stolen property, and seizure of marijuana plants, according to the sheriff’s department.
Jeremy Scott Mays, 23, was stopped on April 16 by a Trinity County sheriff’s deputy for a vehicle code violation, Sgt. Royce “Butch” Grossman said. Subsequent investigation led to Mays’ arrest for firearms violations and possession of stolen property.
Grossman said a follow-up search of Mays’ residence on April 17 led to the seizure of 93 growing marijuana plants, three firearms, and several thousand dollars worth of property identified as having been stolen from locations around Trinity County. The property was taken from places including the Douglas City Volunteer Fire Department, Mountain Valley Unified School District and the County Road Department.
Many other items of suspected stolen property are being investigated, Grossman said, and owners are being sought.
Mays was booked into the county jail on charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of stolen property, burglary and marijuana cultivation.

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