detective

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It was a special ceremony November 6, 2020, one that honored the police service of K9 Tara as she left her home for the last time. After surviving cancer surgery that resulted in the loss of one leg two years ago, K9 Tara was put to sleep after being hit by the disease once again.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It was 1:15 a.m. on the morning of September 6, 1970 when nurse Donna Ann Lass was working in the first aid room of the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino in Stateline, Nevada. She made a log entry just before her last patient entered the room 15 minutes later, one-half hour before getting off duty.

Donna was scheduled to make a log entry at 1:45 a.m. but it was never completed and she was never seen again. Although her car was found parked at her apartment she wasn't seen leaving the Sahara.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - New South Lake Tahoe Police Chief David Stevenson was sworn in during a ceremony on Monday, receiving his official badge from his wife Jennifer in front of his mother and sister. The virtual ceremony had just a few attendees due to COVID-19 restrictions, but many were able to log onto their phones and computers and watch the 25-year veteran of the force, and South Tahoe High graduate, move into the top spot in the police department.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - One man has been arrested in connection with three suspicious fires in the Echo Peak and Echo Lakes area on July 5, 2020. The fires, the Echo Fire, the Upper Fire, and the Lake Fire, appear to have been intentionally started.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Finding a truck with stolen license plates on Tuesday has led to the recovery of a custom made bar top from a South Lake Tahoe brewery.

On June 30, 2020, deputies from El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) got an LPR (License Plate Reader) hit on a truck in Meyers.

The truck was traveling west on US50 and deputies found the truck near Ice House Road and attempted a traffic stop. The driver turned onto a rocky dirt road, stopped by the American River and took off on foot.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - There will be some very big shoes to fill when finding a replacement for retiring El Dorado County Undersheriff Randy Peshon. On Tuesday, June 30, Peshon will be putting his badge on for the very last time. For 43 years he's been in some level of law enforcement, the last 33 years in El Dorado County.

During his career in El Dorado County, Peshon has been at the forefront of change from implementing a change in culture at the jail in South Lake Tahoe to getting the new Public Safety Facility built under budget and ahead of schedule.

11:25 p.m. Update: Merlin Turner was found Thursday and has been reunited with his family. According to Fox40 in Sacramento, a family friend said between the stress brought on by COVID-19 and his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder, Turner needed some respite.

Social media was instrumental in finding Turner. Someone reported seeing him in Knights Landing and another person saw him eating a burger at their diner. The family friend says Turner didn’t even realize how many days had gone by or that he was on the news being reported as missing.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Several people in the Bijou neighborhood saw and heard something on Thursday they normally aren't a witness to. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams were called out to an apartment on Spruce Avenue to arrest a suspect with a known violent history and a history with weapons, according to police.

They were there to arrest 45-year-old Edgar Bringas Zavala, a suspect in a domestic violence and terrorist threat case from the night before.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Two different crimes in South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday turned out to be related and the alleged suspects were arrested near Fresh Pond, California.

On May 20 at approximately 2:50 p.m., officers from South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) responded to the 7-11 at 2620 Lake Tahoe Boulevard after receiving a call of a robbery. Upon arrival, the clerk told officers a man and a woman had walked into the store with black masks on, approached the counter where the female demanded money.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The daughter of a man who was found dead in his home in December is looking for answers and a $10,000 reward is being offered for information up to an arrest and conviction of the person(s) involved.

On December 16, 2019, officers from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) were alerted about a body found in a house on Lodi Avenue. When they arrived, they found 61-year-old Jorge Alberto Lemus Campos deceased.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The death of 61-year-old Jorge Lemus Campos of South Lake Tahoe has been ruled a homicide.

Just before noon on December 16, 2019, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) responded to the 1000 block of Lodi Avenue after a male was found deceased inside his home.

The remains of missing 20-year-old Kenyon Wilson were located last week in the vicinity of Moon Rocks Recreation Area, not far from where his heavily damaged car was found on October 20.

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office detectives announced Thursday they are treating this case as a homicide investigation and are asking the public for any information that may help to identify and locate a suspect, or suspects.

Local author, JoAnn Conner, will discuss the importance of doing research when writing a mystery novel, and how this pertains to her own work. 'Heartwood' is historical fiction with a mystery woven in the story, while 'The Mountain' is a murder mystery revolving around the theft of Native American artifacts. The most challenging for Conner was launching her first series, featuring veteran Detective Frank Riley. 'Death Song' is a murder mystery that involved research on different forms of poisons, and how they are used. Book sale and signing to follow.

Location

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A driver and his passenger escaped after leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase from the Heavenly Village area of South Lake Tahoe to Zephyr Cove, Nevada. They crashed their car into a guard rail and ran away.

On Sunday, August 4 an officer from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) attempted to make a traffic stop at 2:06 a.m. when the driver failed to yield and took off. A pursuit ensued into Douglas County, at times reaching high rates of speed. Six minutes later the suspect's car crashed into a guard rail on Highway 50 in Zephyr Cove.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - "Instead of trying to find a way to eliminate the homeless, we now have the ability to change homelessness with a new approach - and it is working," said current El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) Detective Chris Macras when South Tahoe Now spent a day with him and the EDSO HOT team in 2017.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The current staffing level of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) is 30 authorized, sworn officers, and even with this low number they are rarely at full staffing. During the summer of 2018, the department handled an average of 99 calls per day and had 196 incidents where no officer was available to respond immediately, and about 15 times a day they told callers to 911 the officer would be delayed.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - K9 officer Quatro retired from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) Thursday after serving on the force for 6.5 years.

During the department's annual awards ceremony, Quatro's service was recognized. He has assisted numerous other agencies, confiscated $50,000 in cash, intercepted an envelope with drugs headed to a prison inmate, and assisted his trainer Officer Matt Morrison numerous times while on duty.

Eight-year-old Quatro will continue living with the Morrison family but will no longer head to work at the lake.

A Washoe County detective says alleged murderer Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman told police he robbed and killed his elderly victims during a 10-day rampage in January because he needed money to buy methamphetamine to support his drug addiction, according to the Associated Press.

Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman was arrested on Jan. 19 in connection with the four murders of Gardnerville woman Connie Koontz, 56, Gardnerville woman Sophia Renken, 74, and South Reno Couple Jerry and Sherry David, 81 and 80.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – With a critical increase in active shooter events across the country, the Tahoe Chamber is holding a Level UP Workshop on the subject Wednesday, March 20 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in their Stateline office.

Workplace violence affects about 2 million workers in the U. S. each year. With this violence continuing to pose a looming threat, active shooter training is essential for all businesses. Active shooter events most commonly occur in businesses - 45 percent, schools - 25 percent, and government facilities - 10 percent.

After a six-month investigation into drug transactions in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the El Dorado Sheriff's Department Narcotics Task Force executed search warrants at two locations in South Lake Tahoe on August 23, 2017. Large amounts of heroin, methamphetamine and approximately 12 firearms were seized in the search. Lynwood Towle, Shawn German, Melissa Griffis, Paul Ryan, and Krystal Long were all arrested, charged, and eventually pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from those searches.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The woman who died in Sunday's homicide on Carson Avenue in South Lake Tahoe has been identified as 65-year-old local resident Valorie Turley.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - One man has been arrested in connection with Friday's house fire on Kyburz Avenue in South Lake Tahoe.

Joe Johnson, 37, was arrested on a felony charge of manufacturing a controlled substance and a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of a police officer.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - What started out as car crash involving a suspected drunk driver turned out much differently for the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) on New Year's Eve.

Officers responded to a report of a traffic collision in the 800 block of Los Angeles Avenue on December 31. Upon arrival they found that a Chevrolet Silverado had struck a parked car and a bear box. The driver, 33-year-old Victor Alfonso Ramos-Eucendo of South Lake Tahoe, appeared to be intoxicated.

A 60-year-old grandmother of six from El Dorado, California was found dead in her home on December 18 and deputies are investigating her death as suspicious.

Deputies from the El Dorado County Sheriff's office say they responded to the home Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. where they found Helen McKinney dead and her car missing.

The victim’s son found her body.

An investigation was conducted and it was found that McKinney’s vehicle was missing from her home. Her cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy but is suspicious due to the fact that the vehicle is missing.