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El Dorado County District Attorney's Office has been having "Most Wanted Wednesdays" for months, and taking the story to social media has proven very beneficial with an 80% success rate in capturing the criminals.

This week's most wanted has ties to South Lake Tahoe:

Randy Gene BOWEN
10-3-1960 age 55,
Male White, 5’9, 155lbs
Brown hair, Hazel eyes

The Improv at Harveys – Howie Nave: Host & Emcee, Henry Phillips and Sandro Iocolano, Wednesday – Sunday, January 20 – 24, 2016 The Improv presents the funniest names in comedy every week in the Cabaret Theater at Harveys Lake Tahoe! Shows happen at 9 pm every Wednesday through Sunday.(775) 588-1728

Production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the South Tahoe High School

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. They responded to 658 calls between December 15, 2015 and January 4, 2016.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

12/15
Trespassing in the 1100 block of Glenwood Ave
DUI in the 3600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

12/16
Vandalism in the 3300 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Drunk in Public in the 4100 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Spousal Abuse in the 400 block of Cedar Ave

12/17
Trespassing in the 100 block of Lake Parkway

South Lake Tahoe is host to Operation Sierra Storm each year, a leading national weather conference that brings together those that report the weather with South Lake Tahoe activities and top climate scientists.

The three-day conference runs from January 6-9, 2016 and the public has the opportunity to attend the Friday sessions that feature California State Sen. Pro Tem Kevin de León and Alexander (Sasha) Gershunov, Research Meteorologist for Climate, Atmospheric Science and Physical Oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The first snowpack survey of the season was taken Wednesday in Phillips, showing the snowpack us at 136% of average with a water content of 16.3 inches.

"This is encouraging but not where we'd like to be," said Frank Gehkre, the Chief Snow Surveyor for the California Department of Water Resources. "This is clearly much better than last year at this time."

One year ago the survey showed the snowpack at 47% of average.

A 57-year-old man from Washington has been indicted on charges he posted threats on a popular news website that he was going to kill an officer of StemExpress, a company in Placerville, Calif. that sells stem cells and human tissue to biomedical research companies.

Scott Anthony Orton, of Puyallup, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after he posted threats on July 16, 2015 after videos surfaced that supposedly showed a relationship between Planned Parenthood and StemExpress.

Galt City Council members on Dec. 15 were expected to name an experienced administrator in smaller jurisdictions as Galt’s next city manager.

Eugene Palazzo, who started his career in 1989 as a planning technician in Nevada County, has served as Crescent City’s city manager since 2011.

The council vote was not known at press time.

Galt city staff wrote in the council report that Palazzo has more than 27 years of experience in local government.

His framed photo still sits high on the wall of the gym at South Tahoe High, one that highlights his being awarded the 1983-84 MVP award for Northern Nevada high school basketball players.

Drew Hibbs lead the South Tahoe High basketball team back then, and now he is returning to his old stomping grounds as the coach of two-time California State basketball champion Foothill High School Mustangs, the Sacramento Bee Coach of the Decade, and a coach looking for his 400th career win.

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. They responded to 446 calls between November 2 and 18, 2015.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

11/2
Petty Theft in the 1700 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Drug Offense in the 800 block of Tallac Ave
Drug Offense in the 3600 block of Spruce Ave

11/3
Warrant in the 2600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Weapons in the 1400 block of Melba Ave
DUI in the 3600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

11/4

After a five–day trial, a federal jury today found John James Kash, 52, of Redding, Calif., guilty of three counts of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, manufacturing marijuana, and conspiracy to launder money, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

South Lake Tahoe Police Department officers responded to a report of an armed robbery on Friday night at 7:10 p.m. in the area of the CVS Pharmacy and Tahoe Beach Retreat Hotel on Highway 50. Two adult males reported being robbed by a man brandishing a handgun and long-bladed knife.

As they arrived, officers received other reports of the suspect firing one round after robbing two other adult men at the rear of the hotel.

All six vehicles pulled out of Kiowa Ponds by volunteers from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office HASTY Team on Make A Difference Day, October 24 were reported as stolen according to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.

Five of the cars were reported stolen between 1996 and 1998, the sixth in 2007. Three of the vehicles were reported stolen in Reno, two from Sparks and one from Sacramento, CA. All agencies involved have been notified of the recovery.

Exciting news for South Lake Tahoe, the cycling community and local tourism today when it was announced that the Amgen Tour of California will be returning to the South Shore for both men's and women's events.

Professional cyclists will return to the lake for the men's Stage 5 finish and the women's Stage 1 start on Thursday, May 19, 2016. The men will take off in Lodi, Calif. and finish at Heavenly Mountain Resort’s California Base Lodge in South Lake Tahoe. The women will also start/finish at Heavenly Mountain Resort on May 19.

A CHP helicopter crew and rescue personnel with mountain climbing experience had to be called upon the get three young people from Sacramento off a rocky Sierra Nevada outcropping.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office got a cell phone call for help in the early morning hours Saturday from the three stranded hikers. They were on a ledge in the Desolation Wilderness and could not safely go up or down.

Andrew Herrera, a junior at South Tahoe High School (STHS), continues to rack up awards in the wrestling world.

After playing football for the STHS varsity team on Friday night, Herrera headed to the Wild West Folkstyle wrestling tournament in Sacramento where he competed in their "pre-season showdown" on October 5.

A five month long investigation into the Highlands Health and Wellness marijuana dispensary in Shingle Springs uncovered what authorities say was a multi-million dollar criminal operation.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) centered their investigation on tax evasion, money laundering, conspiracy and the commercial distribution of marijuana for profit.

"The Factory Stores at the Y" will soon be transformed into "The Crossing at Tahoe Valley" if the plan is approved by the City of South Lake Tahoe. In January, 2015, The Sutter Capital Group of Sacramento announced they had purchased the property after it fell into bankruptcy.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.

The heavy holiday traffic in South Lake Tahoe is showing up on the newly installed CalTrans message boards. As of 11 a.m., it was a 14 minute drive from the intersection of Highway 50 and Pioneer Trail near Stateline to the "Y." It is a 70 minute trip from that same location to Meyers and 160 minutes to Placerville.

Three new message signs were unveiled in South Lake Tahoe just before the 4th of July holiday weekend.

A Sacramento County man accused of kidnapping a Vallejo woman in March allegedly confessed to the crime in a recorded jailhouse interview and said he did it alone, according to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court.

Matthew Muller, 38, of Orangevale, is charged with kidnapping physical therapist Denise Hoskins at the Vallejo home she shared with her boyfriend on March 23 and keeping her captive for two days before dropping her off near her mother's house in Huntington Beach.

A Contra Costa Sheriff's deputy who died trying to rescue his friend who he believed was struggling in choppy Lake Tahoe waters earlier this month died from drowning, an El Dorado County Sheriff's official said Wednesday.

The preliminary autopsy report determined Carlos Francies, 30, of Sacramento, drowned on Aug. 13, according to the El Dorado coroner's office. A final report is weeks away, the department said.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department's Honor Guard took part in the funeral Thursday of Carson City Sheriff's Deputy Carl Howell. Thousands of people lined the streets of the state capitol to honor Howell who was killed after responding to a domestic violence call on Saturday, August 15, 2015.

"Superheros are not always in comic books, they do exist in real life," said the fallen hero's father, Kevin Howell, at his son's funeral.

El Dorado Hills resident Jeffrey Lamson, 51, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud in connection with a scheme to embezzle money from his former employer.

According to court documents, from at least 2009 through 2011, Lamson embezzled over $400,000 from a company located in Placer and Sacramento Counties while he served that company as controller. Lamson used company funds to make unauthorized payments to himself and others and made payments to a fictitious vendor, controlled by Lamson, for services that were never performed.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.