enforcement

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Two El Dorado County men have been arrested on multiple charges after leading law enforcement on a chase through South Lake Tahoe and Meyers Friday afternoon.

At 1:12 p.m., the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) was notified of a reckless driver on US50 near Heidi's Restaurant. The person who called it in said the car was a Lexus 4-door and it was heading west.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Much of South Tahoe High was evacuated Friday afternoon after the release of pepper spray was released in the B Wing of the school during 4th period. Other wings of the high school were evacuated as South Lake Tahoe firemen and police responded.

At this time law enforcement and school officials are speaking with parents and students and the incident is under investigation.

Three staff members inhaled the spray and have suffered burning sensation in their lungs. One of them was directed to see medical attention.

STATELINE, Nev. - Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) were called out to Nevada Beach Sunday at 1:30 p.m. when a caller into dispatch said there was a man on the beach with an assault-style rifle.

The beach was immediately shut down and facilities were searched. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department was called out to assist at the beach.

Tahoe Douglas Fire asked people to stay out of the area in a Twitter post - "There is currently a situation at Nevada Beach. Please stay clear. Law enforcement on scene." One hour later they tweeted all was clear.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Law enforcement is asking for the public's help in identifying a man who is the suspect in a residential burglary on July 31 around 5:30 p.m.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) said the suspect, who is pictured above, is accused of stealing the homeowner's vehicle from their Gardnerville home. The home had a Ring doorbell security system that captured the suspect's approach.

Please contact DCSO Investigator Ryan Young at 775-782-9905 with any information leading to the identity of the subject in the photograph above. Refer to case number 19SO22386.

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.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - It's summertime, a beautiful time of year that brings with it perfect beach weather, something evident by the hundreds of cars parked along the roads around Lake Tahoe on a daily basis.

Two of those areas that bring the most vehicles full of beachgoers are Zephyr Cove and Round Hill Pines, two very popular Lake Tahoe spots. Drivers along the highway don't always slow down to speeds slower than the posted 45 mph, keeping it a dangerous stretch on busy beach days with car doors opening and people walking on the road with their coolers and beach gear.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A lead from the Las Vegas FBI led law enforcement to South Lake Tahoe to confront what they thought to be a woman intent on harming herself and perhaps others with a bomb.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The scam is old, but if you want to help those in need it may pull at your heart strings....for a moment.

I got a text today from someone claiming to be Father Mauricio Hurtado of St. Theresa Catholic Church. While I am not a member of the church I am co-chair of their Bread & Broth 4 Kids program and it isn't that abnormal for him to contact me, though it is normally through email.

So at 8:25 a.m. Friday when the text says, "Hi Paula, I need a favor from you, text me back as soon as you get my message - Fr. Mauricio Hurtado," I hit reply right away.

Tonight we had eight cars in the VHR across the street. The house is rated for four cars with a maximum of ten people. We reported it this time. We usually do not report violations because it makes us anxious… no one wants to be the “BAD” guy. The call was simple enough and the response was surprisingly quick. Roughly 20 minutes after our call the officer arrived to view the cars parked in the driveway, in the street, in the front yard and along the side of the house.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe man who led multiple law enforcement agencies on a high-speed pursuit in El Dorado County and Sacramento in May was indicted by a federal grand jury today on two counts.

National Night Out is held across the country annually as a community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. It will be held on August 6 and South Lake Tahoe and the South Shore will be holding their event that night at Bijou Community School on Spruce Avenue from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Another telephone scam is being reported to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and they want to make sure residents, especially the senior population, are informed.

This latest scam is much like others in the past. Unidentified callers are telling the person answering the phone they have a warrant issued from the FBI. The scammer is seeking large sums of money, generally $2,000 to $,5000, be sent via the mail in the form of pre-paid gift cards.

MEYERS, Calif. - One house is a total loss and another suffered major damage after a 4th of July fire on Tehama Drive in Meyers.

At 9:30 p.m., a call went into Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) of a house fire. At first, the caller thought the fire to be on Seneca Drive but it turned out to be at 703 Tehama Drive.

LVFPD Battalion Chief Brad Zlendick said the fire spread to a second home next door, causing major damage to the attic and sides.

There will be no criminal charges filed relating to the altercation between Douglas County Commission Chairman Barry Penzel and Commissioner John Engels during their May 16 in Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Wilder Than Wild: Fires, Forest and the Future will be shown at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center amphitheater on Friday, June 28 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Besides the free showing of the film there will be a panel discussion that includes forest management experts, public land management agencies, local fire districts, local law enforcement, Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities, Liberty Utilities and more.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With electrical transmission lines found to be at fault in recent California fires, agencies responsible for supplying electricity to communities have been creating plans to prevent fires in the future.

Both companies that supply power to Lake Tahoe, NV Energy and Liberty Utilities, have announced new mitigation efforts to reduce the risk of fire.

The El Dorado County (EDC) District Attorney's Office recently helped with a state-wide investigation focused on offenders operating a criminal enterprise from both inside and outside state prisons.

Sixteen members and associates of a prison-based gang have been charged after a long-running investigation into drug trafficking and murders inside and outside of California’s prisons.

The EDC DA office's investigative division has the kind of highly trained and experienced detectives that are often called in to help with operations of this magnitude.

6/4/19 4:00PM Update: Details have been updated in Monday evening's incident on Lake Tahoe. The two people were in a canoe that took on water for unknown reasons about 3/4 of a mile off the shore of South Lake Tahoe. They ended up in the water and were there for about ten minutes before a local boater got to them and pulled them out of the water. The Nevada Department of Wildlife had a boat on the water that reached the group, followed by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) boat. SLTPD got the pair off the local boater's boat and returned them to El Dorado Beach.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Patrol deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) can now take their assigned patrol vehicles home with them, something other cities across the county have tried and had overwhelming success with.

DCSO Sheriff Dan Coverly has been looking at ways to maximize the effectiveness of his Patrol Division while also adding benefits to the public and savings to his budget.

El Dorado County has created a new website as part of its efforts to keep residents informed, safe and prepared for wildfires. Part of this new informative site is an explanation of defensible space and the County's new vegetation ordinance that takes effect May 30, 2019.

The County will use the next nine months to educate the public as to what the ordinance is and how to comply.

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.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Lake Tahoe natural resource and law enforcement agencies remind residents and visitors to practice proper food storage and trash disposal at all times while in bear country. Intentional or unintentional feeding of bears can result in unwanted bear behaviors, increased human-bear conflicts, and public safety issues, as well as fines and possible jail time for violators. Each year law enforcement and state wildlife officers respond to hundreds of calls in which bears may pose a public safety threat or are damaging property. In some cases, the bear must be euthanized.

On July 17, 1982, the body of a woman was found off of a hiking trail in the Sheep's Flat area near Mt. Rose just a few miles above Incline Village, was found. There was no identification or jewelry on the victim and investigators could tell by her clothing she may have been headed to Lake Tahoe when she was murdered.

And there was no suspect.

For over three decades, both her and her killer's identity have been unknown but with new DNA technologies, hard work by a team of law enforcement investigators and genealogists, the case has been solved.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Officers with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department were honored Thursday for their roles in the apprehension of a triple-homicide suspect on April 26, 2019.

The suspect allegedly wanted to kill more victims at South Lake Tahoe's Heavenly Village, making the officers' heroic actions that night even more important to the public's safety, according to SLTPD Chief Brian Uhler.