law

The story was updated on 6-15-15 at 4:15 p.m.

One man died early Monday morning after being shot by a South Lake Tahoe Police officer.

Officers from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) responded to a call at 2:40 a.m. at the Tahoe Hacienda Inn on Highway 50. The caller said they heard the sounds of a woman screaming and crying.

About ten minutes after officers arrived, a man in his 20s was shot in the torso.

Hello fellow anglers, I have to tell you that last weekend's Lampe Park Kids derby was rewarding. The fishing was slow both days, but there were a few nice fish caught. At one time I felt as if I were at a ball game. I could hear the crowd cheering at one end of Willow Creek with the voices in unison rising and lowering as a 4-year-old angler was reeling in a 7 pound trout.

Sutton Hague Law Corporation Presents a webinar on Nevada Employment Law featuring a live Q & A with Nevada Labor Commissioner Shannon Chambers. Topics covered will include: 2015’s legislative Session developments, New Regulations under consideration, enforcement priorities, and common employer mistakes. The webinar will be held on August 11th, 2015 from 12:00pm-1:00pm. The cost to attend is $45; all net proceeds go to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. Can’t attend the live webinar? CD’s and MP3 recordings are available to purchase for $30.

Location

Every year, South Lake Tahoe fire agencies prepare to fight fires around the basin but they rarely get to practice evacuations of residents.

That opportunity came on Monday when the Tahoe Douglas Fire District and Skyland Fire Adapted Community executed an inter-agency wildfire evacuation drill in the Skyland neighborhood.

The drill simulated a real evacuation event to give residents the opportunity to practice evacuating from their homes and getting to the designated safe zone.

Douglas County Sheriff's Deputies will be focusing on traffic enforcement at intersections and crosswalks, looking for red light and stop sign violations, pedestrian violations, speeders and distracted drivers throughout the county from June 8 through June 21.

Key factors in many of the recent fatal highway traffic accidents have been driver inattention and failure to yield to pedestrians. Deputies will continue to enforce all traffic violations on all roadways throughout the county but these violations in particular will be targeted and enforced. Citations will be issued to violators.

Search warrants were served on Monday at five locations related to Tahoe Wellness Cooperative (TWC) and its owner Cody Bass. Staff from eight agencies spent hours at the South Lake Tahoe medical marijuana dispensary, pulling out boxes and containers of cannabis and records.

A large team made up of members from multiple agencies served a search warrant on both the Tahoe Wellness Cooperative and owner Cody Bass's South Lake Tahoe home early Monday morning.

Agents from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB), Board of Equalization, Department of Insurance, South Lake Tahoe Police Department, and El Dorado County Sheriff's Department (EDCSO) were on scene at the co-op according to Tami Grimes, Information Officer with the FTB in Sacramento.

"The contents of the search warrant are sealed," said Grimes.

As the drought begins to impact wildlife, there is concern that California black bears are breaking into Tahoe homes because the lack of rain is contributing to a lack of food.

Now some wildlife activists want to lure those bears away from neighborhoods by feeding them where they live -- in the woods -- even though that practice is illegal.

The activists argue that the drastic action will help the bears survive.

Douglas County homeowners have an opportunity to compost their residential yard waste early this fire season when TDFPD hosts a kickoff event for Compost Your Combustibles with coffee and donuts on Saturday, May 23 at 9am. The free annual recycling program which historically has started on Memorial Day Weekend is now open at Heavenly Mountain Resort’s Boulder Lodge Parking Lot.

Several counterfeit bills have been used for transactions on the west slope of El Dorado County, even days after the arrest of one suspect. On May 8, the Sheriff Deputies were called to the Round Table Restaurant in Pollock Pines after a man tried to buy food with a counterfeit $100 bill. He and a woman left before deputies arrived but a description of the pair and their vehicle was provided to EDCSO.

Rain may have moved the ceremony indoors, but spirits weren't dampened as the South Lake Tahoe Police Department honored some of their own on Thursday in honor of National Peace Officer's Memorial Day.

"We are normal people who are asked to do extraordinary tasks," SLT Police Chief Brian Uhler told the audience of the officer's families, friends, City Council, city staff, community members and other area law enforcement including the El Dorado County Sheriff, CHP and the FBI.

Many times law enforcement officers are the first people a mentally ill person comes in contact with. In South Lake Tahoe, police officers and sheriff's deputies are forced to become front line mental health workers, and since they are on the front lines, Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) is an important part of their job.

El Dorado County received a grant for the Sheriff's Department to receive the training, and, to date, four sergeants and 18 deputies have been trained. While most patrol the west slope, South Lake Tahoe has three CIT officers (two sergeants and one deputy).

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department cited three clerks for selling alcohol to minors during a minor decoy operation on Saturday, May 2.

Clerks at Beverages and More (BevMo), CVS in Bijou, and Safeway all sold the minor alcohol. One unidentified store did not sell the decoy alcohol.

A 24-year-old employee at BevMo, a 21-year-old employee at Safeway and a 35-year-old employee at CVS were all cited. At each store, the employees involved were women.

There’s no shortage of views on the question of legalizing recreational marijuana in California.

That much was evident at a series of focus groups earlier this year, where 48 men and women representing a cross-section of the state filed into rooms with one-way mirrors to share their opinions. The research is aimed at shaping an expected legalization initiative for the 2016 ballot.

Studded snow tires in both California and Nevada need to be removed from vehicles by May 1.

By Nevada law, studded snow tires are only permitted in use between October 1 and April 30. Retractable studded snow tires are allowed throughout the year with tire studs retracted from May 1 through September 30.

In California, studded snow tires are only permitted in use between November 1 and April 30. Retractable studded snow tires are allowed throughout the year with tire studs retracted from May 1 through October 31.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month: Treatment Not Jails

Across the nation, many counties are investing huge sums of money to house people with mental illness in jails, with little return for the community in terms of public safety or treatment for people who need it most. A new national initiative, Stepping Up, provides an opportunity for counties to get support in addressing this problem.

Roadside stations for inspections and decontaminations of motorized boats and watercraft are officially opening for the 2015 boating season. Locations, hours of operation and opening dates are as follows:

Opening Thursday, May 1st:

8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., 7 days a week

• Meyers: at the junction of US 50 and Highway 89

• Spooner Summit: at the junction of US 50 and Highway 28 in Nevada

• Alpine Meadows: Highway 89, off Alpine Meadows Road north of Tahoe City *

*Road construction on Alpine Meadows Road: Go to placerroads.com or call 530-581-0471

Marijuana is still on the list of dangerous drugs after U.S. Federal Court Judge Kimberly Mueller's ruling in Sacramento Wednesday. The move disappoints advocates that saw the case as a chance to get closer to their goal of nationwide legalization.

Mueller denied the motion of the defendants in United States v. Bryan Schweder to dismiss an indictment on that basis that the continued scheduling of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance in federal law was unconstitutional.

A 24-year-old Carson City man was arrested Friday on multiple felony charges after allegedly agreeing to wear a wire for a drug deal and then fleeing with $850 given to him by law officers in order for him to make the transaction, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

The man’s 29-year-old sister, also faces felony charges after allegedly aiding and assisting in his escape.

There are many sides to the South Lake Tahoe Vacation Home Rental (VHR) situation. On one side are the locals whose peaceful lives have been disturbed because they are the neighbors of vacation home rentals that are reportedly out of control with excess noise and trash that come from inconsiderate renters. On another side are the people wanting to enjoy South Lake Tahoe from the comfort of a private home. Yet another side are the second home owners who want to earn money from their vacation home.

The former operator and members of a Diamond Springs marijuana dispensary are suing El Dorado County to recover seized marijuana, medical records and financial documents taken in a Sheriff’s Department raid last year.

The Pure Life Collective has been shuttered since the Nov. 17, 2014, raid, which resulted in the arrest of dispensary operator Kelly Chiusano. No charges have been filed.

The most innovative South Shore businesses will exhibit at the 2015 Business EXPO: Innovation in the Basin on Friday, March 27. The largest business and networking event of the year, Tahoe Chamber’s Business EXPO includes 100 local businesses ranging from restaurants and resorts to recreation providers to retailers. The event includes food and drink tastings, giveaways and a new networking lounge sponsored by the City of South Lake Tahoe, Winters Construction Group and Red Carpet Events and Design.

This Webinar will focus on alcohol and drug testing in the workplace. The learning objectives will include identifying the costs/risks to businesses’ associated with having employees who are substance abusers. Also, inform employers on how to introduce an alcohol and drug testing program at their company and familiarize employers with the state laws of workplace drug testing. Lastly the webinar will discuss recent judicial decisions in cases challenging an employer’s drug testing policy. The webinar will be held from 12:00pm-1:00 pm. Cost: $45.

The El Dorado County Superior Court has announced the appointment of Douglas R. Hoffman as Court Commissioner. Hoffman will be based in South Lake Tahoe but will serve in all of the branches in El Dorado County. He will hear all case types, but will specialize in cases involving family law, child support, domestic violence and civil harassment, juvenile dependency and delinquency, traffic, limited civil cases, as well as overflow matters as assigned by the Presiding Judge.