arrest

Former South Lake Tahoe Fire Captain Mark McLeod Wygant was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 10 years in prison for transportation of child pornography

Wygant, 46, plead guilty in December.

Following an FBI and SLT Police Department investigation, Wygant was a
arrested on Jan. 29 2015 and has been in custody ever since. He had been immediately placed on administration leave but resigned just days after his arrest.

2/25/17 - Updated information at the end of this story provided by Mendocino Sheriff.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - A fugitive pot plant trimmer suspected in the robbery and brutal killing of an operator of a commercial marijuana farm in Mendocino County was arrested in South Lake Tahoe Friday afternoon.

Two men are wanted for questioning in two recent thefts at the Walmart on Topsy Lane in the Carson Valley. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is investigating the thefts which occurred on January 30 and February 20.

In both cases, two male subjects stole used vehicle battery cores from a fenced area near the automotive service department. At this time it is believed that over 100 battery cores were taken between the two thefts.

A 12-year-old student was arrested on Thursday evening after making threats to bring a gun to Carson Valley Middle School on Friday February 17 and “shoot up the school.”

At 7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 16, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office received a call after a concerned parent intercepted the threatening message sent to their child. Deputies responded to the Indian Hills residence of the reporting party and met with the parent to examine the phone in which the threat was received.

The Carson City Sheriff’s Office and several law enforcement agencies are investigating new information related to threats made against a Carson City judge, Sheriff Ken Furlong said Thursday.

On Wednesday, Carson City Sheriff’s Office detectives and Department of Public Safety investigators received information that an inmate at the Washoe County Sheriff’s Detention Center was being held on a 2011 felony contempt of court warrant out of Carson City.

South Lake Tahoe is a community of diverse backgrounds reaching around the world, and with President Trump's current dialog on immigration, concerns are arising among immigrants who call Tahoe home, and from those that represent them in the area.

The current enrollment of Lake Tahoe Unified School District shows 42.4 percent are Hispanic, 3.6 percent Filipino, 1.2 percent Asian, 48.1 percent white and the rest of other nationalities.

Nicholas Martin Coberley, 45, of Pollock Pines, will be spending the next 27 months in prison for assault with a deadly weapon on a park ranger.

What first appeared to be a case of a 16-year-old high school student bringing a loaded firearm onto campus Thursday quickly turned into a murder investigation.

At 8:00 a.m. January 19, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) was notified that a student at Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs had been detained for bringing a loaded firearm onto campus. Upon deputies arrival at the school, they placed the student under arrest for the possession of the firearm.

A Gardnerville street was closed Tuesday afternoon as deputies, SWAT and crisis negotiation teams from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) served an arrest and search warrant at the home of a domestic violence suspect on Centerville Lane.

At 8:00 p.m. the previous night, on January 2, 2017, DCSO deputies found a partially clothed woman running down the lane. She had been badly beaten and her hands had been bound. She had been the victim of a violent domestic battery.

A 28-year-old suspect in the alleged December 14 assault, kidnapping and robbery of a man in Gardnerville, Nev., has been arrested in Yerington.

At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 3, 2017, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) investigators and Lyon County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Francisco “Frankie” Perez at a residence on North West Street without incident.

Fans of electronic music flock to South Lake Tahoe for the annual SnowGlobe outdoor music festival held December 29-31. The predominately under-30 crowd come from colleges and communities hundreds and even thousands of miles away to enjoy a specially gathered group of top artists in the electronic dance music (EDM) field. An estimated 15,000 tickets have been sold for the three-day event which is held on the South Lake Tahoe community's newly created ball fields.

Along with the fun though comes issues common at most music festivals: noise, trash, drinking and illegal drugs.

An investigation by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office into the death of a six-week-old infant has resulted in the arrest of a 29-year-old man.

Michael Swope is behind bars at the jail in Placerville and being held on one million dollars bail after his arrest on Thursday, December 29 at 3:20 p.m. on second-degree murder and assault charges.

The infant’s mother has been cooperating with authorities throughout the investigation and is not considered a suspect.

No other details have been released.

Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) is looking for the suspect(s) responsible for the breaking of windows and other vandalism at Douglas High during the early morning hours of December 21.

The suspect is described as approximately 5’11 to 6 feet, wearing dark clothing, dark gloves and shoes, and a camouflage colored hat with matching face mask. During the crime is carrying a black or dark blue “Jan Sport” backpack with a suede bottom.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) is still looking for one suspect in the alleged assault, kidnapping and robbery of a man in Gardnerville on December 14, 2016.

The adult male victim contacted DCSO and reported that two people had violently attacked him in a home in the 1500 block of Gilman Avenue, held him at gunpoint, and then drove him to a bank where he was forced to remove an undisclosed amount of cash. They later released the victim.

Investigators had determined that Stacy Conti-Salway, 35, and Francisco “Frankie” Perez, 28, are responsible for the crime.

Former South Lake Tahoe Fire Captain Mark McLeod Wygant, 46, pleaded guilty in federal court today to transportation of child pornography.

Following an FBI and SLT Police Department investigation, Wygant was a
arrested on Jan. 29 2015 and has been in custody ever since. He had been immediately placed on administration leave but resigned just days after his arrest.

"I am pleased that Mr. Wygant plead guilty to his crime and the punishment will now in the hands of the criminal justice system," said SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston.

An unlicensed El Dorado county tax preparer was sentenced Friday to 3 1/2 years in prison and ordered to pay $1,895,833 in restitution for conspiring to file false claims and filing false claims. Her co-conspirator will be sentenced next week.

Barbara Antonucci, 49, and her co-conspirator, Sherry Taggart, 56, of El Dorado Hills, prepared tax returns for clients seeking to maximize their refunds from the Internal Revenue Service.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in identifying a person of interest in the theft of purses in two separate incidents in Stateline on October 22, 2016.

In a press release today, DCSO said two different victims used the restrooms at both MontBleu and Harrah's Tahoe between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Within minutes, both women could not locate their purses.

One student at Douglas High School in Minden was arrested along with a nearby resident after allegedly selling marijuana laced Rice Krispie treats on school groups which led to one student needing medical treatment.

On November 3 an investigation began after a student complained of feelings of anxiety and an accelerated heart rate. She said she may have eaten a Rice Crispy square laced with marijuana earlier in the day and named another female student as the person who brought the edible marijuana to school.

The ill student was taken to a medical facility for treatment by her parent.

The current crime and police officer staffing statistics in City of South Lake Tahoe is consistent with the State of California as a whole. Most of the crimes for which the Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act have mandated a reduction in criminal penalties have increased in our city. Also consistent with state-wide statistics is the reduction in numbers of South Lake Tahoe police officers available to address local crime.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county.

The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at press time and the story may be updated when provided.

10/23/16

1:15 a.m. - Disorderly Conduct: Alcoholo - Jicarilla Dr - A 34-YEAR-OLD MALE WAS ARRESTED FOR PUBLIC INTOXICATION. THE SUSPECT WAS BOOKED INTO EDCJ AND LATER RELEASED
PURSUANT TO 849(B)(2) PC.

6:56 a.m. - Death Investigation - South Lake Tahoe - 89-YEAR-OLD FEMALE DECEASED.

Several reports of attempted fraud were reported to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office on Monday, but none of the targeted recipients paid any money to the scammer.

An unknown male called all of the potential victims, claiming to be Lt. Mike Sharp with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Caller IDs identify the phone number as (775) 375-5858, located in Winnemucca, Nevada. They were all told they owe money in regard to a civil case #6120-NV-8901.

Law enforcement officers in the Reno-Sparks area are looking for a man wanted in connection to a triple homicide in Sacramento on October 15.

Jerod Watson, 52, is a suspect in the murder of his ex-girlfriend's mother and two adult sons. All three had been stabbed multiple times.

Watson fled Sacramento in an SUV that was stopped in Reno, but he was not inside the vehicle.

There is an active arrest warrant for homicide for Watson who is believed to still be in the Reno-Sparks area. He is described as an African American male, 5'10", 180 pounds.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county.

The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at press time and the story will be updated when provided.

9/25/16

1:49 a.m. - Disorderly Conduct: Alcohol - Lake Tahoe Blvd - 33-YEAR-OLD MALE ARRESTED FOR PUBLIC INTOXICATION

2:31 p.m. - Runaway - Meyers - 15-YEAR- OLD MALE RAN AWAY WITH HIS 12-YEAR-OLD SISTER.

A Secret Witness tip has led to the location of Dason Valdez and Krystle Reid, the parents accused of abducting their two children on September 12 after losing custody of their two- and four-year olds.

Just after midnight Thursday morning, the Carson City Sheriff's Office found the pair and arrested Valdez on a Carson City warrant and they released Reid at the scene. Charges against both are pending in Douglas County but the arrest is based on an previous warrant.