On November 07, 2023, at about 12:10 p.m., officers from the Eureka Police Department (EPD)
as well as personnel from Humboldt Bay Fire (HBF) responded to the report of a two-vehicle
traffic collision at the intersection of Henderson and I Streets in Eureka. It was reported that
one vehicle had overturned and the occupants were still trapped inside.
HBF was able to remove the driver from the overturned vehicle who was then transported to a
local hospital by City Ambulance for minor to moderate injuries. The passenger in this vehicle
was determined to have suffered fatal injuries as a result of the collision.
A member of EPD’s Major Injury/Fatal Traffic Investigation Team responded to the scene to
conduct the investigation. Additionally, EPD Detectives and Evidence Technicians responded to
assist with the collecting of statements and evidence. The initial investigation has revealed the
driver of the overturned vehicle was north on I St. and failed to stop at the red light at
Henderson and was struck by another vehicle that was traveling west on Henderson.
Intoxication may have been a factor in this traffic collision.
The occupants of the other involved vehicle were uninjured.
The decedent has been identified and the Humboldt County Coroner’s office is working to
notify next of kin.
This is an active investigation and EPD is asking if anyone witnessed the collision to please
contact the department at 707-441-4044.
Yet another major car crash in Eureka has shuttered one lane of Broadway at the south end of the 101, and traffic is slow in the area while the city’s thin-stretched traffic cops try to sort this one out.
As you can see in the video below, a driver of one of the vehicles involved was detained by police — handcuffed and hauled away to a cruiser. The Outpost’s Andrew Goff spoke to the driver of the other involved vehicle, who was unharmed and in good spirits.
UPDATE: An EPD officer on scene confirms that the driver was detained on suspicion of driving under the influence
Not even two hours after a fatal two-car crash at the intersection of Henderson and I streets smack in the middle of Eureka’s residential core, two other vehicles collided down the street at the intersection of Henderson and Union.
Officer Andrew Endsley of the Eureka Police Department that three people were sent to the hospital. He added that officers are investigating, and are looking at excess speed as a factor in the collision.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. | Screenshot.
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Facing pressure from the Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative (HCRI), an upcoming ballot measure that would place stringent and intractable new restrictions on commercial cannabis, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors today sought to preemptively address some public concerns about the existing county regulations on the industry.
Backers of the controversial HCRI, which will appear on March ballots as Measure A, have declined offers to work with county officials in hopes of finding some middle ground. They argue that their initiative is necessary to prevent large-scale cannabis operators from continuing to run amok at the expense of the environment and neighboring property owners.
Opponents of the measure, including members of the Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HCGA), say it would institute draconian limitations that would harm even small-scale growers at a time when the local industry is struggling to survive, and they point to the difficulty of modifying rules passed through voter initiatives, which can only be changed or repealed through subsequent ballot measures.
Today, the Board of Supervisors (minus First District rep Rex Bohn, who is out of town attending a meeting of the National Association of Counties) discussed some possible changes to the county’s existing Commercial Cannabis Land Use Ordinance, changes that they hope might allay some of the public concerns that gave rise to Measure A in the first place.
Specifically, they discussed lowering the cap on the total number of cultivation permits available countywide, reducing the acreage of cultivation area allowed in each county watershed and limiting individual grow operation to no more than one acre, without exceptions for very large property owners or people taking advantage of the county’s Retirement, Remediation and Relocation (RRR) program.
Planning and Building Director John Ford explained that the supervisors have a variety of options, including placing a temporary or permanent moratorium on cultivation permits or modifying the existing ordinance either directly or via a voter initiative of their own design.
Staff’s recommendation was to develop a referendum to be presented to voters in March, alongside Measure A, one that offers some less drastic changes to the existing rules.
Namely, Ford explained, staff was suggesting a 60 percent across-the-board reduction on some current limits. For example, a 60 percent cut to the cap on cultivation permits would reduce the maximum from 3,500 to 1,400 permits. That mark is slightly below the current number of permits plus pending applications (1,578), though Ford said it’s reasonable to expect some attrition given the current state of the industry.
Staff also recommended a 60 percent cut to existing permit and acreage caps in each county watershed. Those caps are listed below, alongside the existing numbers of permits and applications, and total the permitted acreage contained within:
The Humboldt County Growers Association asked for a slightly higher limit on total cultivation permits — 10 percent above the current number of permits and applications.
Measure A, meanwhile, would establish a cap of somewhere around 1,200.
The four supervisors present at today’s meeting peppered Ford with questions about the options available to them.
During the public comment period, backers of Measure A, including Kneeland residents Mark Thurmond and Elizabeth “Betsy” Watson, accused the county of trying to sabotage their voter initiative. Thurmond described the proposal laid out in the staff report as “a deceptive attempt to undermine and defeat Measure A.”
Watson called it “a transparent effort to confuse voters.”
On the other side of the issue, HCGA Policy Director Ross Gordon argued that members of the public were misled into signing the Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative, and some of the county’s current ideas would do a better job of achieving that measure’s purported goals.
After a good deal more discussion among board members and staff, Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson wound up making a motion that sought to incorporate each of their concerns.
His motion directed staff to come back at a future meeting with some proposed language for a new referendum, one that would mostly follow staff’s recommendations. The rough outlines for this referendum, as hashed out during today’s meeting, would lower the cap on the total number of cannabis permits countywide, though the exact number will remain up for debate — likely somewhere between the 1,400 suggested by staff and the 1,600-plus advocated by the HCGA. (Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell said she’s onboard for that higher cap, but no other supervisors agreed.)
The referendum will likely also include a lowered cap on total cultivation acreage allowed in each watershed and the one-acre max for each grow operation.
The board also asked staff to include language that would allow the rules ushered in through this referendum to be changed by the Board of Supervisors, but only through a four-fifths vote from their body, and only if the changes are based on sustained findings of fact, with sign-off from environmental regulatory agencies including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Per a suggestion from Wilson, the referendum may also include language directing the board to work on addressing some other problematic aspects of existing cannabis regulations, including water and energy use and the public notification process.
If the board does hope to get a competing voter measure on March ballots, it will have to work quickly. Draft ordinance language must be submitted to the Humboldt County Elections Office no later than December 9, which gives the board less than a month to craft and finalize a proposal.
The proposed referendum will be brought back to the board for further discussion and refinement at an upcoming meeting.
CORRECTION: This post has been corrected to reflect that the proposed referendum would reduce current caps by 60 percent, to a level 40 percent of the existing caps. The Outpost regrets the error.
A fatal two-vehicle collision on I Street at the intersection of Henderson has closed traffic while the Eureka Police Department investigates and recovers. One vehicle overturned and is currently draped with a sheet.
EPD Commander Leonard La France tells the Outpost’s Andrew Goff, at the scene that one person is dead and another suffered moderate injuries in the collision, which occurred within the last hour. La France said that I street between Henderson and Hayes will be closed for some time while police investigate.
[Update: Henderson between H and J is also closed.]
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
Denise Gail Cruz, born 1953 and found deceased in 1980
A 43-year mystery has been solved and a family is finally getting closure thanks to a partnership between the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) and Othram Inc.
On February 11th, 1980, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) responded to a call of possible human remains located in the brush off Stagecoach Rd, near Trinidad. A HCSO detective responded and began an investigation. A female body, described as 20-30 years old, reddish-brown hair, 5’9” tall, weighing 170 pounds, was located in a sleeping bag.
During the investigation the California Department of Justice (DOJ) was able to recover a latent fingerprint which was ran through the Automated Latent Print System with no reported matches. A forensic dental examination was completed by a local dentist. An autopsy was completed, and the cause of death was listed as an overdose. A DNA sample was obtained and entered into both the California Missing Persons DNA Database and the National Unidentified Persons DNA Index (#UP55390). The DNA profile was routinely searched against profiles from both missing persons and other human remains in the Combined Index System (CODIS). No profile matches were ever made.
Missing persons cases stay open until solved. In December of 2022 the HCSO and the CA DOJ partnered with Othram Inc, a forensic genealogy lab, to determine if advanced forensic DNA testing could help establish an identity for the unidentified woman or a close relative. CA DOJ sent Othram a DNA extract from the unknown woman’s remains. Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the woman. Once the profile was built, Othram’s in-house genealogy team used forensic genetic genealogy to produce investigative leads.
In August of 2023, the HCSO received the Othram report indicating the DNA profile may be that of Denise Gail Cruz, born in 1953. The report included several genetic relatives, including a possible brother named Mark from Colorado. HCSO investigators were able to contact Mark, who confirmed he had a sister named Denise Gail Cruz. A DNA sample was obtained from Mark and sent to CA DOJ for comparison to the unknown female. CA DOJ was able to confirm that Mark and Denise were genetic relatives. For unknown reasons Denise stopped communicating with family members. Their last contact with her was in September of 1979. Denise had been living a transient lifestyle and was suffering from untreated mental health issues. As the family was not sure whether the loss of contact was intentional, Denise was never reported as missing.
HCSO thanks the California Department of Justice DNA lab and Othram for their outstanding work and assistance in solving this case and providing the Cruz family with some closure for their missing loved one. The HCSO is continuing its partnership with the CA DOJ and Othram and is reviewing several of our missing persons investigations for the use of this latest DNA technology.
Anyone with information regarding Denise Cruz and her last known activities or whereabouts prior to her death, or information that may assist in the investigation of any open missing persons cases, is asked to contact HCSO Cold Case Investigator Mike Fridley at 707-441-3024.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On 11/3/2023, at about 5:39 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 39000 block of State Hwy 299 near Willow Creek for the report of a male subject waving a knife.
The deputy arrived on scene and located a male subject in the Coast Community Credit Union parking lot. The deputy observed 36-year-old Andrew Mianecki brandishing a large knife and threatening a nearby individual. The deputy requested assistance and held Mianecki at gunpoint, directing him to drop the knife. Mianecki refused and concealed the knife in his front sweatshirt pocket. The deputy continued giving commands to Mianecki until additional deputies arrived on scene. After about 10 minutes, Mianecki complied with deputy commands and was detained without further incident.
Upon investigation, the deputy learned Mianecki had threatened to kill the victim with the knife. The deputy also learned Mianecki had threatened an additional victim and attempted to stab them with a knife. Neither victim was injured during the incident
Mianecki was taken into custody and booked for attempted murder (PC 664/187(A)), brandishing a deadly weapon (PC 417(A)(1)), criminal threats (PC 422(A)), resisting arrest (PC 148(A)(1), and assault with a deadly weapon (PC 245(A)(1)).
This case is still under investigation.
Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
