Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On May 5, 2026, at approximately 2:40 p.m., Officers with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) responded to the vicinity of Grotto and E Street for a report of a strong-arm robbery.

Upon arrival, Officers contacted the reporting party, who stated that two male subjects had taken several tools from their construction site. When confronted by an employee, one of the suspects struck the employee, causing injury to the victim’s face. The suspects were last seen fleeing westbound on Grotto Street on bicycles.

Officers canvassing the area located a male subject matching the description of one of the suspects. The victim positively identified the individual as Sandro Ramirez-Uribe, 46 years old of Eureka, who was subsequently taken into custody.

The second suspect was identified as Moises Bandabalmaceda, 33 years old of Eureka. Officers responded to his residence, where he was located hiding under a shed in the backyard and taken into custody without incident.

Both suspects were transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility, where they were booked on charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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Whoever takes the mantle as California’s next governor will face an immediate test as they try to solve the crisis of homelessness on our streets.

Nearly a quarter of all homeless U.S. residents live in California, though the state is only home to 11% of the country’s overall population. Voters are frustrated by encampments that don’t seem to get any smaller. Amid limited access to mental health and addiction treatment, research has found more than a third of homeless Californians regularly use drugs, and more than a quarter have been hospitalized for a mental illness.

California is at a crossroads as it heads into next month’s primary election, and how the new governor responds to these linked issues will play a major role in whether people who are suffering get the help they need. Gov. Gavin Newsom says the number of people sleeping outside dropped 9% last year, which he credits to multiple new initiatives, such as his mental health court. But as the sector faces funding cuts, it’s unclear what will happen to the programs Newsom championed after he leaves office and whether the state can continue to build on that progress.

CalMatters, in partnership with the Steinberg Institute and Abridged – PBS KVIE, sought to interview the eight top-polling candidates for governor on these crucial themes. We asked the four candidates who agreed to interviews tough questions about homelessness and mental health policy, including when and how someone should be forced into treatment.

Here’s what they said. Candidates are listed alphabetically.

Chad Bianco – Republican

If Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco becomes governor, his plan is to take “home” out of the discussion around homelessness.

His platform is that homelessness has nothing to do with homes and everything to do with drug and alcohol abuse, which may lead to or exacerbate psychosis.

“This is not about homes,” he said. “Stop calling it homes. ‘Homeless’ was used because psychologically we feel sorry for somebody that doesn’t have a home and we believe they’re forced to live on the street. That is absolutely false. This is not about homes. Stop calling it homeless.”

What is his solution to homelessness?

A widely cited study from UCSF found one-third of homeless Californians regularly used drugs and that the most common reason people became homeless was a loss of income. Bianco dismissed that research as an “absolute travesty.” He asserted that closer to 95% of people on the street suffer from drug and alcohol addiction – a statistic he said comes from “law enforcement as a whole” without citing a specific source.

The only answer is to force people into treatment, stabilize them and get them back to wherever they were before their crisis, Bianco said.

Bianco also called Newsom’s assertion that the number of people sleeping outside in California dropped 9% last year an “absolute scam,” adding that “no one in this state believes that homeless(ness) is getting better.”

Would he make California’s main source of homeless funding (the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant) permanent?

No. And he wouldn’t continue any other funding, either. “No NGO and no nonprofit is going to get money with me as the governor,” he said. He said he’d be willing to funnel a small portion of the grant toward addiction and mental health treatment.

Would he change the programs Newsom has put in place to tackle homelessness and mental health?

CARE Court (Newsom’s new mental health court) doesn’t work, Bianco said, but he didn’t say how he would change it. While he said Prop. 36 (which Newsom opposed but voters approved) could have solved a lot of the state’s problems, he said it’s failing because Newsom won’t provide the resources to make it work. Bianco also wants to fully reverse Prop. 47, the 2014 reclassification of certain low-level drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.

How would he improve California’s mental health system?

Bianco wants to make it easier to compel people into involuntary mental health treatment.

“We have to get to a point where the Legislature passes a law that we can actually force people into mental health treatment, whether they want it or not,” he said, “because if you ask someone if they want help who’s suffering from a mental health crisis, their answer is going to be no.”

Steve Hilton – Republican

Steve Hilton, a former adviser to the UK prime minister and Fox News host, places a major emphasis on what he calls wasteful spending.

There’s plenty of money in California’s budget, he said, but it goes to special interest groups instead of programs that actually help people who are homeless or have severe mental illnesses. “I think we’ve got to be honest that you’ve got a lot of corruption in the system,” he said.

Nothing about the way California is currently addressing homelessness is working, according to Hilton. The best course of action, Hilton said, is to scrap past policies and start over.

What is his solution to homelessness?

Hilton maintains that it’s categorically illegal for anyone to live outside on the street. “This is against the law, and the law needs to be enforced,” he said. The first step is to remove people from encampments, he said, then triage them to find out what services they need.

While many cities in California have made homeless encampments illegal, it’s up to individual jurisdictions whether to do so.

California’s current homelessness philosophy, called “housing first,” emphasizes offering housing without strings attached: that means getting someone inside as quickly as possible instead of using housing as a reward for someone getting sober, treating their mental illness or enrolling in other required programming. That strategy has been a “complete disaster,” said Hilton, who instead wants to free up all state funding to support sober housing.

Even if Newsom is right in his claim that the number of people sleeping outside in California dropped 9% last year (which Hilton disputes, though less aggressively than Bianco), he argues that drop is far too insignificant.

Would he make California’s main source of homeless funding (the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant) permanent?

Hilton wants to upend rather than continue the current funding stream. “The fact that we’ve had this catastrophic failure that’s cost tens of billions of dollars means that we need a complete review of everything that’s been going on,” he said, “because it’s clearly not working.” He said “it’s possible” some existing homelessness programs are successful.

Would he change the programs Newsom has already put in place to tackle homelessness and mental health?

Hilton didn’t provide details about whether he would scrap, change or keep existing Newsom initiatives such as CARE Court, but he expressed a desire to overhaul state-funded programs.

How would he improve California’s mental health system?

The lack of resources available for people living with severe mental illness means that jails have become the state’s main providers of mental health care, Hilton said, which he called “completely barbaric.”

“That’s going to be the measure of success for me,” he said, “that we are no longer a society where people who need serious and intensive medical support and help are left on the streets or put in our jails.”

Despite being pressed to do so during the interview, Hilton didn’t say if or how he would change the standard California currently uses to force people into involuntary mental health treatment.

Matt Mahan – Democrat

When it comes to homelessness policy, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has become the big face of tiny homes.

San Jose has built a bunch of them under his direction. The city created more than 1,000 new temporary places to sleep last year, even as critics have accused Mahan of diverting too much money away from the longer-term housing that can permanently get someone out of homelessness.

Mahan touted his record in San Jose during this interview, including that the number of people sleeping outside in the city has dropped by nearly a quarter since 2019.

What is his solution to homelessness?

Much of how Mahan would handle homelessness in California appears to be based on what he, and his county counterparts, are already doing locally. In addition to his city’s temporary housing push, Mahan talked about Santa Clara County’s successful homelessness prevention program, approving and funding permanent homeless housing, and also supporting ADUs and market-rate housing. He authored a controversial policy in San Jose that allows police to arrest people who refuse multiple offers of shelter, though he didn’t bring that up during this interview. “We’ve taken an all-of-the-above approach,” he said. “It isn’t housing first or something else. It isn’t just brand-new apartments or just prevention. We’ve really taken an entire continuum of solutions that work together.”

Would he make the main source of state homeless funding (the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant) permanent?

Yes. Mahan promised as governor he would fund the grant at $1 billion every year and vowed to make communities qualify for those funds based on their performance.

Would he change the programs Newsom has already put in place to tackle homelessness and mental health?

Mahan said Newsom was on the right track with his homelessness and mental health policies, but the state hasn’t implemented them to their full potential. That includes Prop. 1 (the mental health bond that promised to fund thousands of new treatment beds and homes), CARE Court (Newsom’s mental health court), Prop. 36 (which is supposed to divert people from jail into treatment) and Senate Bill 43 (which changes the way people qualify for long-term, involuntary mental health care).

How would he improve California’s mental health system?

Mahan wants to expand mandatory inpatient treatment. To start, he wants to “hold Sacramento accountable for adding hundreds of state mental health hospital beds.” He also wants to make it easier for someone to qualify for involuntary care. He’d convene a group of psychiatrists, doctors, lawyers, clinicians, civil rights advocates and other stakeholders to come up with a new standard for involuntary commitment that allows people to get help earlier.

Involuntary commitment should last around 30 to 60 days, and then the person should be placed into voluntary, transitional housing, Mahan said. He also wants to track how many people get stabilized and are released from institutional care, with the goal of increasing those numbers. “The compassionate thing to do is to intervene,” he said. “And yes, that may look like, it may in fact be, a temporary suspension of certain civil liberties.”

Antonio Villaraigosa – Democrat

Villaraigosa also touted his record on homelessness as a big-city mayor. He led Los Angeles from 2005 until 2013, during which time he said more homeless housing was built in the city than in the dozen years before. He also served as speaker of the Assembly in the late 1990s.

To address homelessness, Villaraigosa said his No. 1 focus would be building housing. Like Mahan, he sees potential in using tiny homes to get people off the street.

While Villaraigosa said he wants to address what he described as the “chaos” of people selling drugs in front of cops and defecating in the street, he stressed: “I’m not for criminalizing homeless(ness). I am for compassion. But I’m not for chaos. I’ve seen as I go up and down the state, people are calling for draconian responses to homelessness, which I don’t support.”

What is his solution to homelessness?

It’s too expensive to build homeless housing right now, he said. Investing in the much-cheaper alternative of tiny homes could be a solution. Secondary to addressing the need for more housing, California also needs to tackle the drug problem and mental health crisis on its streets, he said.

Would he make California’s main source of homeless funding (the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant) permanent?

Yes, but only if there’s accountability, Villaraigosa said. He promised to set metrics to determine success in each city and county that receives funding. “It won’t just be money,” he said. “There will be metrics and results at the end of the rainbow, or there won’t be money.”

Would he change the programs Newsom has already put in place to tackle homelessness and mental health?

First, Villaraigosa wants to better track the outcomes of these programs. He said he would set up public dashboards to monitor progress, much like he did in LA with dashboards on new housing construction. Villaraigosa also wants to withhold money from counties that aren’t doing a good job using CARE Court (Newsom’s mental health court). He supported CARE Court when it started, but the program isn’t working and hardly any counties are using it to its full potential, he said.

How would he improve California’s mental health system?

If someone is on the street suffering from severe mental illness, sometimes the compassionate course of action is to commit them to a locked psychiatric institution, Villaraigosa said. Like Mahan, he wants to convene a group of experts to re-evaluate how people are currently committed, and set new standards that get more people off the street.

Another priority for Villaraigosa is the shortage of mental health professionals. To fix that, he wants to add more workers via training programs with California colleges and universities. He also wants to make insurers prioritize mental health the same way they do physical health – and provide adequate reimbursements for mental health services – which he says will help make the field more attractive to new workers.

Rich Leonardo was born May 3, 1956, to Tony and Gerry Leonardo of Ferndale. If Rich were the first born, they may not have had another.

Rich passed away on April 30, 2026, just three days before his 70th birthday.

To his family, he was a son, little brother, uncle, great uncle, cousin and pain in the ass. We loved him and we will greatly miss him. To others, he was described as wild, loving, loud, sweet, stubborn, caring, emotional, ornery, heart of gold, teddy bear, and a few other names. He was a solid partner in crime for his friends (only some we can mention). Rich was always wanting to lend a helping hand, however, sometimes he accidentally started a war. Rich had a nickname provided by his closest friends when he was young, “Bananas.” It suited him well.

We loved him, and he passionately loved his friends and community.

Rich grew up attending grade school at Grizzly Bluff in Ferndale. He and his siblings were normal ranch kids who were always into a little bit of mischief. As Rich was the youngest, he was unwilfully selected as the test pilot for many of their youthful adventures. After the historic 1964 flood, a major chapter in the Leonardo Family Album, this forced the Leonardo kids to attend school in town (Ferndale). Rich graduated from Ferndale High School in 1974 as the class president. Who knew?

After graduation, Rich entered the dairy business as a partner with his dad at Leonardo & Son Dairy. “Dairy rancher” was the title, although cows were not really the priority. Rich spent most of his time logging and mining the river bar. That John Deere tractor was put to the test skidding and loading logs, mining gravel, and a few other tasks better not mentioned here in the paper.

“Bananas” provided everyone with some good material from these days. We could start with the St Helena Football game, talk about his flatbed Toyota, or when he … well, we can tell these stories later in good company.

During the ranch years, Rich became heavily involved in community service, “wait a while” this is serious. Rich joined the Ferndale Fire Department. The first role of Rich in the department started as Company 1 Lieutenant, quickly advancing to Captain, then assistant Chief before ultimately assuming the role “Chief Leonardo.”

Chief Leonardo’s leadership extended beyond Ferndale Fire. He served as President of the Humboldt County Fire Chiefs Association for two years, fostering collaboration and communication among fire departments throughout the region. He loved his role.

Rich’s commitment and expertise in public safety was further recognized when he was appointed to the prestigious “Gang of 5” committee which he served for 5 years. Formed after the tragic events of 9/11, this committee was comprised of the sheriff, two fire chiefs, the head of public health, and a police chief. The committee was tasked with distributing grants that enhanced public safety infrastructure and preparedness. His years of service and rise through the ranks speaks volumes about his commitment to Humboldt County and the Eel River Valley. Rich did an excellent job and took these roles more seriously than anything else in his life.

Rich always wanted to help make someone’s day brighter. Sometime in the 2000s, Ginger, Rich’s older sister, wanted to see the Ferndale Christmas Tree lit up one last time on New Years Eve. Ferndale had been out of power for a few days so the tree was not lit. Rich coordinated getting a generator to plug in the tree and proudly called his sister to go outside and take a look. That sure put a huge smile on her face! They managed to light up three strands of lights and of course the star on top was shining brightly. Rich made his sister happy … on that day.

During the next chapter in Richie’s life, he went to work for his brother Tony at Leonardo Logging. Rich loved working in the timber industry. Rich, otherwise known as R6 on the company radio, helped take care of safety, dispatching trucks, pilot car, running errands and most of all, public relations. It suited Rich well! With a new pick up and a fuel card, he was set. Tony was thankful for all those times he had Rich for the extra help … but could never find Rich? Rich looked up to his brother, and Tony loved his little brother, and that is why Tony never killed him.

As we all know, Rich had a very strong work ethic. He worked regular shifts at the Palace in Ferndale and The Playroom in Fortuna, rarely missing a shift. He operated his own pilot car service in between shifts, and even had a short stint contributing to the press at the Ferndale Enterprise.

Rich was a social butterfly, and it is now confirmed, Rich did know everyone! The outpouring of calls, texts, and conversations we have received is amazing. People from all walks of life! We are laughing and scratching our heads wondering about a few. One thing we can say for sure is that Rich had a larger and more diverse group of friends than most people can comprehend. This is a true reflection of who he was. Thank you to all those who stopped by to say hello to Rich over the past two months.

We know Rich would want to mention his best friend, Dave Mogni. Rich had a difficult time with the recent passing of Dave. Some of the best times of Richie’s life were spent with Dave, and the most memorable was the sailing trip he took with Dave and Barb around the Virgin Islands. This is not to say Dave was his only best friend. To the Pretzel “Guy”, he loved and listened to you more than he would his own family. He was SO proud of all the fun times you shared. Thank you for all you have done for him over the years.

To all Richie’s other best friends, you know he loved you guys. Bobby Shinn for all the adventures since childhood, Luke McCanless and the gang for all the food, beverages and crabbing adventures, Kevin Frye, and too many others to mention. You all know who you are! Thank you for being a part of his family.

To all the staff at Fortuna Rehab, we know Rich would want to give a big shout out to all the ladies! You took such great care of him, and we thank you very much for your sincere love and care. Our appreciation to Pat Cowan for her loving comfort and knowledge to Rich and our family.

Richard is survived by his brother Tony and wife Janice Leonardo, his sister Ginger Nunes, his nephews Shannon and wife Amy Leonardo, Brian and wife Nikki Leonardo, Trevor and girlfriend Brenna Kirkpatrick, Lucas and wife Cassie Leonardo, nieces Sierra and husband Phil Mullens, Michelle Nunes and son Faris, great nephew Shaun Leonardo and fiancé Kaylee, great nieces Ava Leonardo and Jessica Leonardo. And soon to be great-great niece, Peyton Leonardo.

Rich was preceded in death by his parents, Tony and Gerry Leonardo, sister Tina Leonardo, and brother-in-law John Nunes.

A celebration of life for Rich, Uncle Richie, Bananas, will be held at the Portuguese Hall in Ferndale on Saturday, May 30, 2026. Show up around 11 a.m. for a drink. We will have some stories and lunch then most likely have a parade across the alley to finish off the day at Richie’s office.

Funeral arrangements were handled by Ayres Family Cremation.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Rich Leonardo’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

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Tribal community members and allies marched to the Humboldt County Courthouse in Eureka this afternoon to demand justice for lost loved ones in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Awareness Day. The national MMIP movement aims to increase awareness of the ongoing violence against indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

Today’s event, organized by the Yurok Tribe, kicked off at the Adorni Center in Eureka, where volunteers handed out and free t-shirts from the To’ Kee Skuy’ Soo Ney-Wo-Chek’ (I Will See You Again in a Good Way) Project, an initiative of the Yurok Missing & Murdered Indigenous People Program focused on justice, healing and prevention. Many organizers held red, heart-shaped mylar balloons. Each of the tables scattered throughout the room was topped with red and white roses, a schedule of events and small pieces of candy.

Wiyot Tribal Councilmember Vanessa Rios gave a solemn introduction ahead of the march, remembering the Wiyot people who lost their lives in the February 26, 1860, massacre on Tuluwat Island in Humboldt Bay.

“No charges were filed for these murders – no investigation, no action taken by local law enforcement,” Rios read from a prepared statement. “No one was tried, no one held accountable. … This legacy of disregard for the lives of the Wiyot people continues today. Humboldt County has the highest concentration of [MMIP] cases in California, yet here on our own ancestral lands, Wiyot people are often left out of conversation about murdered and missing indigenous people.”

Rios’ speech was followed by a song from Yurok tribal member Lisa Hayden. “Now that we’ve had prayer, we’ve had land acknowledgement and we’ve had a beautiful song, we can go in a good way now and bring awareness,” said Laura Whitewood, community outreach manager for the Yurok Tribal Court.

As the crowd of 150-plus people made its way through Old Town and Downtown Eureka, organizers led chants calling for justice and listed the names of several local indigenous people whose missing persons cases have yet to be resolved. Many held signs featuring the names and pictures of loved ones.

Keep scrolling for more pictures.

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Press Release from Blue Lake Volunteer Fire Department:

On May 3, 2026 at approximately 2:57am Blue Lake Fire Department was dispatched to a reported residential structure fire at the 100 block of Leeveren Court. When the initial dispatch came in, our Blue Lake Fire Engine was at the scene of another residential fire in Arcata. One Blue Lake Engine was immediately released and responded to Leeverlen as well as the Blue Lake Chief. Upon arrival crews found a single story residential structure fully involved.

Engine 8514 began setting up water supply upon arrival. Fire conditions were advanced and a defensive attack was initiated. Arcata Fire, Fieldbrook Fire, and Kneeland fire were also at scene. Fire personnel had the fire knocked down in approximately 1 hour after the initial dispatch.

One dog, and [3] pet birds unfortunately perished in the fire, one dog and four cats were not accounted for at scene after firefighters looked through the home after the fire was controlled. Mutual aid resources from Arcata were released during overhaul operations; crews remained on scene for clean up until 7am. The cause of the fire is still under investigation; at this time it is unclear as to what started the fire. It is important to note that Blue Lake Fire works closely with our allied partners and supports them in mutual aid requests and they do for us. From the time of dispatch our crew made it to scene in approximately 15 minutes from an active fire scene in Arcata. Blue Lake Fire would like to thank our allied partners for their assistance during this incident, Fieldbrook Fire, Arcata Fire, and Kneeland Fire. We would also like to thank Blue Lake Public Works, and HCSO.

A GoFundMe link for the family.

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In response to ongoing issues with illegal dumping along Eureka’s waterfront, the city is looking to install a gate on Marina Way, between “B” Dock and the Wharfinger Building, to prevent overnight vehicle access. The gate will be locked from dusk til dawn, but pedestrians will still have access to the parking area during the day.

The Coastal Development Permit request, submitted by the City of Eureka to its own staff, was approved by the Development Services Director Cristin Kenyon during a public hearing on Monday afternoon. The permit request does not require additional discretionary permits and, as such, does not require review from the city’s planning commission or city council, though the decision can be appealed to either body within 10 days.

During the hearing, City Manager Miles Slattery emphasized that the decision to install a gate “has nothing to do with people that are camping” along the waterfront. “It has solely to do with the amount of resources that we’ve been expending in this area,” he said, later adding that the city has spent “thousands and thousands of dollars in staff time” to address illegal dumping. 

“Now, is that illegal dumping happening only from community members experiencing homelessness? Not at all,” he continued. “The vast majority of the larger material we have there is coming from people [who] are housed and come in there and make illegal dumps.”

If you are among the concerned community members who contacted both the city and the Outpost to express concern about the new gate and what it might mean for your waterfront lunchtime ritual, Slattery says you’ve got nothing to be worried about. 

“This will not affect that in any way, shape or form,” he said. “It’s totally for the purpose of making sure that we’re not spending an inordinate amount of resources in cleaning up an area.”

For a few years now, the city has used a “Lot Cop” to keep an eye on traffic along Marina Way, but now that the city is facing a “budget crisis,” it will have to ditch the surveillance system, Slattery said. “We’re getting rid of two of our Lot Cops, so we won’t have the ability to do that anymore.”

During public comment, community members Sarah Torres and Sandra Warshaw expressed concern about the city’s unhoused population, especially people who park their vehicles and camp along Marina Way. 

“I do think it is harsh of the city to propose a gate when people who are in vehicles and, for whatever reasons, cannot go to the [Rescue] Mission [and] cannot use Betty Chinn’s services,” Torres said. “Maybe put a pause on it until we have a place for people to camp — legally or illegally — in their vehicles.”

Slattery reiterated that the area behind the gate will still be accessible to the public. On the note of camping, he added, “It’s never been legal for them to camp there, but it’s not like we’re out there arresting people for camping there.”

Director Kenyon acknowledged the “tricky situation” that arises when balancing environmental resources and public use, but said the gate would “minimize the impact [of dumping] to the extent feasible.”

She agreed to approve the coastal development with a small clarification to address apparent confusion around when dawn and dusk occur. (Dawn=sunrise and dusk=sunset — you’re welcome!)

You can read the full proposal at this link.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Search Warrant Served at Miranda’s Rescue Amid Allegations of Felony Animal Abuse, Fraud and Conspiracy

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Cities in the Eel River Valley are placing their contracts with Miranda’s Rescue on pause, after the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation of the Fortuna-based animal rescue operation on Friday evening.

The cities of Fortuna, Ferndale and Rio Dell each have contracts with the nonprofit for animal control services — to take care of strays and other animals that end up in city custody — and each say they will be suspending those arrangements for the time being.

On Monday, Ferndale City Manager Kristene Hall sent a letter to Shannon Miranda, the president and founder of the organization, saying that the city would not be sending animals to the organization’s headquarters on Drake Hill Road in Fortuna, pending the outcome of the investigation:

Effective immediately, and pending the effective date of termination, the City is suspending all referrals, deliveries, and placement of animals with Miranda’s Rescue due to the pending criminal investigation and the City’s resulting concerns regarding continuity of services, animal welfare, and compliance with applicable contractual and legal requirements.

Hall added that the Ferndale Police Chief would be in touch with Miranda’s Rescue “regarding the status and disposition of any City animals currently in your care, including records relating to receipt, treatment, disposition, transfer, adoption, euthanasia, or release of such animals.”

In a letter to members of the Ferndale City Council, the city manager said that she and the police chief would be looking at installing equipment at the police station, so that the city could look after its own strays.

Fortuna Police Chief Matt Eberhardt and Rio Dell City Manager Kyle Knopp each confirmed to the Outpost that their cities had similar contracts with Miranda’s Rescue, and would likewise stop sending stray animals to the organization while the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation was underway.

Records from Rio Dell show that the city has been paying Miranda’s Rescue a flat fee of $1,900 per month for caring for animals that end up in city custody.

Miranda’s Rescue — founded by Shannon Miranda in 1998 — has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the county’s preeminent animal-related charities. Local obituaries frequently ask mourners to donate to the organization in the name of the deceased.

In a press release issued Saturday, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office wrote that it had “received credible information regarding allegations of felony animal abuse, animal cruelty, fraud and conspiracy” before serving a search warrant at the nonprofit’s headquarters on Drake Hill Road in Fortuna.

Reached today, the Sheriff’s Office said it didn’t have any additional comment on the matter at this time. A voicemail left at Miranda’s Rescue’s main phone number was not returned before publication.