vern pierson

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) and the El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson are investigating possible illegal and improper predatory towing practices.

SLTPD has received several informal complaints from the public about the possible illegal tow practices that involve cars removed from private parking areas near the Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe.

The complains involve a tow company improperly holding stored vehicles longer than necessary, thus adding extra storage fees to the vehicle's owner.

In the wake of more senseless violence in our country, we see our politicians taking their now familiar position on their soapboxes to lament their party opponents’ inaction. We need less grandstanding and more real response. While California Governor Gavin Newsom is busy pointing fingers, AB 1722 – an assembly bill based on science and focused on preventing gun violence – languishes in the Appropriations Committee.

1:00 PM UPDATE: More information has been released in the arrest of Christopher Wadstein in Sacramento. Police found almost a pound of methamphetamine in the fire after his truck burst into flames.

Wadstein is a long time South Lake Tahoe resident with arrests dating back to his teenage years. Lt. Shannon Laney said their first file on him was in 2001. His previous convictions range from drugs and vandalism to kidnapping and weapons
charges. He is also believed to be a skinhead white supremacist prison gang member according to SLTPD.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - On March 22, 1974, Nancy Webster, 37, and her daughter, 19-year-old Rebecca Dinkel were seen at a café in the Garden Valley area of El Dorado County.

They left the cafe shortly after Nancy received a threatening phone call from her abusive, common-law husband, Clifton Mahaney.

It was the last time anyone saw either one of them alive.

An El Dorado Hills woman who was convicted of felony animal cruelty charges in 2016 has been sentenced to an additional 240 days of jail time for violating the conditions of her felony probation. The jail sentence was handed down in El Dorado County Superior Court on November 9, 2018.

Ginger Turk, 48, a puppy broker, has had many run-ins with the law over the years due to her illegal practice of importing tiny, under-aged, un-weaned, high-priced ($4,000+) puppies from South Korea and selling them over the internet and in person.

More ballots have been counted in El Dorado County, leaving just over 2,000 still be counted out of the almost 23,000 left to do after election day.

County Supervisor 5th District

It appears Curtzwiler and Novasel will face off again in November.

JEFFREY SPENCER 1120 16.82%
NORMA SANTIAGO 916 13.76%
KENNY CURTZWILER 2149 32.28%
SUE NOVASEL 2454 36.86%

County Supervisor 4th District

If Ranalli doesn't get to 50 percent there will be a runoff with Lori Parlin in November.

LORI PARLIN 4439 37.86%
BOGDAN AMBROZEWICZ 1451 12.38%
MICHAEL RANALLI 5818 49.62%

100 percent of the precincts have been counted and there are just some mail-ins waiting for be tabulated and counts can be changed until count is final.

County Supervisor Area 5

Sue Novasel - 1604 Votes or 36.90%
Kenny Curtzwiler - 1419 Votes or 32.64%
Jeffrey Spencer - 718 Votes or 16.52%
Norma Santiago - 597 Votes or 13.73%

County Supervisor Area 4

Michael Ranalli - 3599 votes or 50.03%
Lori Parlin - 2698 votes or 37.50%
Bogdan Ambrozewicz - 888 votes or 12.34%

County District Attorney

Murder charges have been filed against a South Lake Tahoe man, almost ten years after the death of his three-week old baby boy.

On November 14, 2008, officers from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) arrived at a home after a call about a baby who was found unconscious. The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department arrived shortly after and transported the infant to the hospital where he was declared deceased. Both the baby's mother and father were present at the time police arrived.

A former El Dorado County Sheriff's lieutenant is now the chief investigator for the District Attorney's office. Jeff Dreher was sworn in during a ceremony on Friday.

El Dorado County Sheriff John D’Agostini, who was present for the swearing in ceremony said, "Although this is a loss for the Sheriff's Office it is a significant gain for the DA's office and all of law enforcement throughout El Dorado County."

Those arrested for DUI in El Dorado County, especially repeat offenders and those involved in fatal or injury crashes, can expect to face highly trained, specialized prosecutors, funded by a $195,677.00 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). The grant to the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office will fund a Vertical Prosecution team that will work cases from arrest through conviction and sentencing.

The man who led anti-South Lake Tahoe Police, El Dorado County Sheriff, District Attorney and Judge campaigns will be spending the next seven years in prison after he was given the maximum sentence October 27, 2017 in Sacramento Superior Court.

For nearly five years the El Dorado County District Attorney's office has been searching for Javed Noori, a man who had been placed on the federal government's Northern California Most Wanted List.

That search is now over after Noori was returned to the county on October 9, 2017 where he faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon including two special allegations for inflicting great bodily injury and for a prior strike for very similar conduct.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe Secret Witness Program if offering a $3,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of local gas station attendant Manpreet Singh on August 3, 2013.

“Friends and family never forget and neither should we," said El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson as he asked for the public's help in solving the case.

Singh was the lone employee on the night shift at U.S. Gas on Lake Tahoe Boulevard when a gunman entered the store, shot and killed him.

Vern Pierson, the El Dorado County District Attorney, testified against the "Sanctuary State Bill" in Sacramento on Wednesday.

Pierson spoke before the California Assembly Judiciary Committee.

"I’m strongly opposed to making California a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants," Pierson said. "Local, state and federal law enforcement officers need to be able to communicate with each other in regard to an important issue like immigration enforcement."

If Senate Bill 54 were to pass, state and local law enforcement would not be allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

San Joaquin County residents Aman Izatt, 30, and Jarrod Izatt, 35, were sentenced to over 24 years in prison on January 27 for their part in a 2015 identity theft case in El Dorado County.

In an attempt to combat and bring awareness to cyber sexual predators, scam artists and bullying, District Attorney Vern Pierson has produced this webisode on how to protect you and your loved ones.

Arsonist Wayne Allen Huntsman was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay over $60 million in victim restitution after he pleaded guilty Friday to starting the catastrophic King Fire in 2014.

Twenty years in prison was the maximum sentence Huntsman could receive for the guilty plea of three counts of Arson to Forest Land, admitted multiple enhancements for causing injury to firefighters and destruction of multiple structures.

EL Dorado County Total Recall, the group behind the recall of all five County Supervisors, failed to turn in any of the signatures needed to bring the recall of Supervisors Sue Novasel and Brian Veerkamp to the voters in November.

On October 27, 2015, Sue Novasel, the County Supervisor representing South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, Tahoma and Pollock Pines was served a “notice of intent to circulate a recall petition” by a group of citizens who said they are “tired of the corruption and cronyism that has plagued our county for years.” It wasn’t only Novasel, but all five of the County Supervisors, Shiva Frentzen, Ron Mikulaco, Michael Ranalli and Brian Veerkamp.

Brynn Rainey was a Keno runner at the Sahara Tahoe in 1977 when her body was found on property near the old Stateline Stables where the Van Sickle Bi-State Park now resides. She lived at what was known as the Cookbook apartments, frequented the 7-11 store on Emerald Bay Road, took the bus to work and, on the last night she was seen alive, visited the Bitter Creek Saloon near the corner of Sandy Way and Takela Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

The El Dorado County District Attorney's office announced the felony DUI conviction of six time offender Michael Ramirez. The 44-year old was convicted of two counts of felony driving under the influence and three counts of driving on a suspended license on February 26 in Placerville.

Ramirez had four prior DUI convictions, one of which was a felony, as well as two prior prison terms within the past 10 years.

He is currently in the EL Dorado County Jail in Placerville awaiting his April 6 sentencing.

The list of people against California's Proposition 47 grew today with the addition of El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson, Sheriff John D'Agostini and County Supervisors joining the fight against what has been touted "The Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act."

Updated at 12:05 a.m. Wednesday morning: 100% of the precinct's results are in.

County Supervisor District 5
The top 2 will face off in November.

Kevin Brown – 788 votes, 19.06%
Kenny Curtzwiler – 731, 17.68%
Gerri Grego – 499, 12.07%
Sue Novasel – 1135, 27.46%
Teresa Piper – 235, 5.68%
Angela Swanson – 737, 17.83%

Measure P

Yes - 1271, 68.41%
No – 587, 31.59%

Measure L
Yes - 2552, 78.52%
No – 698, 21.48%

Sample ballots for the June 3 primary elections in California were mailed out April 25th, and absentee/mail in ballots are being mailed out Monday and Tuesday, May 5 and 6.

According to the mailed ballots, South Lake Tahoe county voters have the following choices in June:

U.S. Representative for the 4th District - Tom McClintock or Art Moore
State Assembly for the 5th District - Frank Bigelow
Superior Court Judge for Office 1 - Vicki Ashworth, David Combellack or Joe Weinberger
Superior Court Judge for Office 5 - Joseph Hoffman or Dylan Sullivan