The Eureka Police Department today released footage of the police shooting of Little Eagle Moon behind the Red Lion Inn on Dec. 30, as a task force attempted to take him into custody.

Moon, who was wanted on several violence-related charges, was injured in the shooting, but managed, after being hit, to flee, first by vehicle and then on foot, damaging several vehicles and the corner of the Red Lion Inn in his attempt to escape.

The footage is from the body camera worn by EPD Detective Joseph Couch, who was the only law enforcement officer on scene who was wearing a device.

In the aftermath of the incident, the Eureka Police Department issued a statement saying Officer Couch was prompted to open fire after Moon “began ramming law enforcement vehicles.” Though the footage shows Moon’s vehicle appears to be moving pretty slowly immediately before Couch fires six shots, it does confirm that as he attempted to escape the net of law enforcement cars that had surrounded him he did serious front-end damage to the one directly behind his. A map embedded in the video shows a Sheriff’s deputy standing next to the damaged car at the time.

“Fuck, dude, I think I shot him” says Couch to his partner, after Moon manages to free his vehicle and briefly escape.

As the video notes, the Humboldt County Critical Incident Response Team continues to investigate the case. When they’re finished, the case will be turned over to the District Attorney’s office, which will decide whether or not any charges against the officers are warranted.

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

Pursuant to California Government Code §6254(f)(4), modified by Assembly Bill (AB 748), video and/or audio recordings depicting the discharge of a firearm at a person by a peace officer or custodial officer shall be made public within 45 days of the event by the agency provided the release would not significantly interfere with a criminal or administrative investigation.

The Eureka Police Department has released the body worn camera recording depicting the discharge of a firearm during the December 30, 2021 officer involved shooting. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/sj-U3uXqdG4

The Humboldt County Multi-Agency Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) is continuing to investigate. This is an active criminal investigation and additional information will be released in accordance with California Penal Code 832.7.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• SCANNER TRAFFIC INDICATES: Shots Fired in Eureka
• Eureka Police Release Statement on Today’s Apprehension of Felony Suspect Near Red Lion Inn, In Which an Officer Fired After Law Enforcement Vehicles Were Rammed
• Suspect Who Was Injured by Officer Gunfire to be Booked for Attempted Murder for Allegedly Ramming Police Vehicles With His Own, Says EPD
• Eureka Police Detective Named as Only Officer Who Fired a Gun During Last Month’s Officer-Involved Shooting
• Parolee Pleads ‘Not Guilty’ of Attempted Murder of Police Officers in Car-Ramming Case; Bail Set at More Than $1.5M

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From the Eureka Police Department:

On February 10, 2022, at about 8:20 p.m., officers with the Eureka Police Department responded to a carwash on the 1400 block of Broadway for the report of an armed robbery that had just occurred.

Based on statements and surveillance, the victim was washing her vehicle in a self- service stall when the suspect approached her, brandished a firearm and demanded money. The suspect fled on foot northbound when the victim said she only had coins. Officers searched the area but were unable to locate the suspect.

The suspect was described as a white male, 20’s to 30’s, and about 5’7” tall. He was wearing a dark colored backpack, dark colored jacket over a red hooded sweatshirt, black hat, and dark pants.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation or identity of the suspect is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Liles at tliles@ci.eureka.ca.gov or (707)441-4010.

A call to Fortuna’s Public Works Department confirms that this amazing deal is not limited to Fortuna residents. Come on down to the Friendly City and load up!

Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash

Press release from the City of Fortuna:

The City of Fortuna will once again host a promotional give-away for Exceptional Quality (EQ) Class A compost for beneficial reuse as a soil amendment to your property or place of residence beginning on Monday, March 7th and continuing while supplies last until Friday, March 11th.

Loading hours will be from 9am to 2:30pm each day at our facility located at 180 Dinsmore Drive. As per the City’s Biosolids Management Plan, the public will be limited to 21⁄2 cubic yards (roughly one full-size pickup truck load) of material per address per year. Small pickup trucks should hold 11⁄2 cubic yards. Everyone will be required to sign a “Hold Harmless” release of liability, when picking up the compost. Drivers must have proper tarps for covering compost while transporting from the facility. Tarps are NOT provided by the City. No pickups with canopies will be loaded by City staff.

Due to current CDPH requirements under the Covid-19 pandemic, face-masks will be required for unvaccinated individuals on site. If staff is loading another vehicle upon arrival, remain waiting inside your own vehicle until it is your turn. Practice 6 foot social distancing while interacting with staff.

Please use the corporation yard entrance (2nd gate past the bridge) when picking up the compost. Vehicles entering the corporation yard can proceed directly to the loading area by following the signs. If you have any questions, you may call (707) 725-1476.

Jurors in the murder trial of Ulisses Rodriguez deliberated all day Thursday without reaching a decision on whether he is guilty of murdering Jeremy Kuemmel and Tiffany Ellebrecht on a marijuana grow in Southern Humboldt.

Because today is a court holiday, the jury won’t start deliberating again until Monday morning.

Most jurors seemed to be in good spirits, talking and laughing, as they left the courthouse at 4:30 p.m.

Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, 27, is accused of shooting the couple to death, dragging their chained bodies to the back of Kuemmel’s Ford Expedition and then setting the vehicle on fire. The blazing Expedition was left in a turnout on Briceland Road.

Much depends on whether jurors believed the trial testimony of John Doe and Chano Sanchez, workers at the grow site who said Rodriguez told them he killed the couple and needed their help with the bodies.

Afterward, according to Sanchez and Doe, Rodriguez allowed them to leave but told them to come back in an hour with gasoline. Instead Doe went to a lawyer, then to law enforcement, to report what he had witnessed.

During closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutor Luke Bernthal said Sanchez and Doe told the truth, and their accounts are supported by the physical evidence.

But defense attorney Andrea Sullivan said Doe and Sanchez should be considered suspects. She argued that Doe had been selling methamphetamine to Kuemmel and Ellebrecht, and they were killed because they hadn’t paid their bill.

Sullivan said the car was set on fire on a main road to “send a message.”

Rodriguez was arrested at his parents’ home in Chico a few says after the killings. His mother and father have been in the courthouse every day of the trial. They headed home to Chico on Thursday but were planning to be back in Eureka on Monday.

Rodriguez has been in Humboldt County Correctional Facility since a few days after the killings on Aug. 14, 2018. He is charged with two counts of murder, making criminal threats and arson. He also is accused of special allegations that could mean life in prison without parole if he is convicted.

Jurors were given four options: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and acquittal.

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One scientist working for the state of California drives for Lyft and Uber on nights, weekends and holidays to support his family in Sonoma County. Another manages the Berkeley building where he lives for extra cash. A third has been pushing for years to be reclassified as an engineer rather than a scientist — a change that could mean higher pay for the exact same work.

Scientists working for California are key to food safety, cleaning up hazardous waste and protecting wildlife, wetlands and water. Their work informs the state’s efforts to combat climate change, drought and wildfires.

Two years ago, two members of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cabinet said scientists in their agencies were dramatically underpaid — earning less than their local and federal counterparts and state colleagues in similar roles who are classified as engineers.

Now the union representing staff scientists is back at the negotiating table after trying for nearly two years to update a contract that expired in July 2020. They’re seeking to narrow or close the gap with other state workers, like their colleagues in engineering.

Full-time rank-and-file state scientists on average earned 27% less than state engineers in 2020 wages — $83,586 compared to $114,012, according to a January state assessment. The engineers have a much larger union, with a bigger proportion of men.

About 78% of state engineers identify as men, according to a state assessment that included only binary genders. Among state scientists, the gender ratio is roughly even.

Pay rates for state employees who are not managers or supervisors are negotiated by their unions and the state Dept. of Human Resources, which works within limits established by the Department of Finance and the governor’s office. Lawmakers then vote to approve the contracts, which are signed by the governor.

As California’s lawmakers wrestle with how to spend the budget surplus, workers and environmental organizations warn: Fix the pay gap or risk undermining the state’s scientific ambitions and policy goals.

“I get to put on my little superhero cape every day and actually fight for a better California. And it’s a real privilege,” said Christina Toms, a state scientist working to protect and restore San Francisco Bay and other coastal wetlands that can combat sea level rise.

“I’m freaking terrified that all of these awesome people that I work with that are underpaid as (environmental scientists) are going to leave.”

Toms and other scientists interviewed emphasized they were speaking as union members, the California Association of Professional Scientists, rather than as employees of their agencies.

California’s disparity between scientists and engineers follows a national trend. Nationwide, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculated that environmental scientists and specialists across the occupation earned $73,230 in median wages in 2020 — 20% less than environmental engineers, who earned $92,120.

For Christina Toms, becoming a scientist for the state of California gave her an added sense of purpose — and “an absolutely gut-punching salary cut.”

In California’s agencies, scientists and engineers often work side-by-side on state projects. Both fields generally require high levels of specialized education and technical expertise, and non-partisan analysts and the state’s personnel administrators have noted overlaps between the classifications.

Hope Smythe, who supervised scientists, engineers and geologists and recently retired as executive director of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, said there is no clear distinction between their work that would warrant different pay.

“The people that were in my unit, we were all working on the same thing,” Smythe said. “There was really no specific definition of well, this is geologist’s work, versus this is engineer’s work, versus this is scientist’s work.”

State engineer salaries began outpacing scientist salaries in the early 2000s after engineers negotiated a new contract. This caused “severe retention problems in the scientist classes where the duties, responsibilities, and knowledge overlap the engineer classes,” state personnel officials wrote in 2006.

In 2014, after a series of court battles, scientist supervisors received pay increases of up to nearly 43% that brought them more in line with their engineer colleagues. But among the rank and file scientists, subject to collective bargaining, a pay gap persisted.

Toms, who trained as an engineer and had worked as a consultant in environmental engineering, didn’t realize there was such a significant difference in pay when she applied for a permanent position with the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Control Board.

She has been trying to be reclassified as an engineer ever since, she said. For Toms, becoming a scientist for the state of California gave her an added sense of purpose — and “an absolutely gut-punching salary cut.”

The Professional Engineers in California Government union — which represents engineers and some geologists involved in shaping California’s infrastructure and technology, and protecting air and water quality — would not comment on the pay disparity.

At least part of the disparity could be linked to a gender pay gap. In a letter to the administration, members of the union wrote “​​for female, Black, Native, Latinx, AAPI, LGBTQ+, and other scientists of diversity, a severe and long-standing pay inequity between state employee disciplines represents simply another form of institutional discrimination.”

The pay disparity “feels like more of the same, always,” said Tricia Lee, a senior environmental scientist with the state’s Delta Stewardship Council who works to reduce threats to California’s water supplies.

“I think there continues to be a narrative that state scientists are doing less important or … less technical work, and therefore are less deserving,” she said.

Some research suggests that fields with a greater proportion of women pay lower salaries, possibly because employers “ascribe a lower value for the work done in occupations with a high share of females and consequently set lower wage levels.”

‘Dramatic parity challenges’

“Science was on the ballot,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said after his victory in the September recall election. “We said yes to science.”

But members of his administration warned two years ago that underpaying scientists is compromising the state’s scientific endeavors.

“Rank and file scientists do similar work to rank and file engineers while being paid dramatically less,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot warned in a 2020 memo to Eraina Ortega, director of the California Department of Human Resources. “Pay equity is urgently needed to enable high-quality science.”

The “dramatic… parity challenges faced by state scientists” threatens “the ability and capacity of CalEPA to fully implement its mission to safeguard California’s resources, products, food, and climate,” Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Jared Blumenfeld echoed in his own letter.

“Rank and file scientists do similar work to rank and file engineers while being paid dramatically less.”
— Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Secretary

Some state scientists, such as chemists and epidemiologists, make more than the market average, according to a state assessment that included supervisors. But most are environmental scientists and specialists, who earn about 2% less in total compensation than the market average for public sector scientists in California and 8% less than federal ones. Their vacancy rate, however, falls slightly below the state’s.

Human resources department staff said the report compares median salary, which “would be centered on rank-and-file classifications.” But the scientists’ union disputes the analysis, saying it’s skewed by the inclusion of supervisors, who aren’t included in collective bargaining.

Environmental scientists in the pricey Bay Area — where nearly a fifth of state scientists work — face especially steep disparities, earning 23% less than their counterparts in local government, and about 41% less than federal scientists, according to the state assessment.

In 2019, 22% of 59 scientists in the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Water Resources Control Board and the regional water boards who responded to an informal survey said they held second jobs. Most said the pay affected their willingness to recruit others.

Chuck Striplen, who works in state and tribal intergovernmental affairs for an agency he asked not to be named because it doesn’t control his salary, holds a PhD, a master’s degree, two bachelor’s degrees and an archeology certification. His job involves protecting the state’s natural resources.

Striplen, who is based in Sonoma County, said he began driving for Uber and Lyft to supplement his pay and racked up thousands of miles of trips before the pandemic.

“You do what you gotta do to take care of your kids,” said the father of four, who is a California tribal citizen. “Having overcome the traditional barriers in education, in housing, to come into state service and be so woefully undercompensated because of a different form of discrimination — it’s just a bit of a morale killer.”

Kim Tenggardjaja, who works for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said finding out she was making less than her engineer colleagues was disheartening.

“California is seen as such a forward-thinking state, and we are. But at the same time, there’s this huge lack of pay parity there,” she said. And not remedying it, she added, makes a statement. “It’s saying, ‘Well, maybe scientists don’t matter as much as we would like to have others believe.’”

Environmental and other science and health-focused organizations wrote to Newsom, asking him to address the pay differences, calling it a “moral issue” but also an “unsustainable situation” that could threaten important services.

Ortega, the director of the Department of Human Resources, and Newsom’s office declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations.

Toms said no one goes into state service expecting to get rich. But as science continues to be critical to combatting major challenges ahead for California, like climate change, she said:

“Californians deserve to have the best of the best working for them. And the way you do that is, you pay them.”

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CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Mary Josephine (Jo) Bobillot, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed on to our lord on December 14, 2021.

Mary was born February 13, 1935 in Pomona to Luella and Percy Blackwell. She had six sisters and one brother. The family eventually moved to Oregon City where Mary attended school. Mary met the love of her life, Antone (Tony) Bobillot, while attending Oregon City High School as a sophomore in 1951. Tony was a fun and exciting young man and would cruise by her house on his motorcycle trying to get her attention, which he did. They were married October 20, 1951.

Tony was soon drafted into the Army and was sent to boot camp stationed at Fort Ord. Mary and her mother moved to Fort Ord area to be with Tony, where they stayed on until Tony was honorably discharged due to a foot injury. Mary and Tony moved back to Oregon and started their life together. One day Tony had a bad day when he wrecked his plane and motorcycle on the same day.

Mary and Tony then decided to move to Humboldt County. With a job lined up working in the timber industry, they packed up a borrowed cattle truck with their belongings and their baby girl, Antoinette. They lived in Arcata for a short time then moved to Fieldbrook, where they lived for many years. Mary had three additional children — Alan, David and Andy.

Mary was a devoted homemaker making many friends in the little town. Mary was very active in Fieldbrook Grange, community church and the PTA. Mary took a job at Fieldbrook School working as a teacher’s aide and eventually became the school secretary where she helped many teachers and kids along the way. Mary kept the family home going and the Bobillot’s house was always the meeting place for many kids and friends over the years. There was always extra food around for anyone who needed a meal.

In the early days of living in Fieldbrook, Mary and Tony maintained the Volunteer Fire Department’s fire trucks in their garage until a new Fire Department was built next to the Fieldbrook store.

Mary and Tony always had a big garden and beautiful flower beds. Gardening together was a great joy in their life.

Mary’s love of her life, Tony, passed away in 1981. Mary retired from Fieldbrook School after 30 years and moved to Arcata, where she lived until 2018. Mary became very active in her community. Working with the county supervisors, she spearheaded the successful PTA Campaign to rid the Manila area of abandoned vehicles littering vacant lots, roadsides and riverbanks and also a tepee burner from an abandoned mill. In total, Mary and her team removed more than 350 car bodies. The site is now home to Manila Park.

Mary continued her work with the community. She was the treasurer and exhibit chairwoman for Friends of the Arcata Marsh. Mary loved painting scenic views and birds at the marsh where you could find her on sunny days. Some of her paintings have been featured in many art galleries in the Humboldt area. Mary absolutely loved gardening. People in the neighborhood would come by to see her garden and pick up a potted plant. Mary loved the water and took up scuba diving with her oldest son at the age of 52.

She also got involved with the Kinetic Sculpture races. Her good friend, Hobart Brown, built the Calistoga Kinetic Delivery Truck with which Mary and her team completed the race in 1990.

Mary was a proud member of the Scottish Heritage Association and loved attending their dinners and events. Mary enjoyed dancing and having parties. Halloween was one of her favorite holidays and she would always have a pre-party at her house to kick of the evening events.

Mary moved from Arcata to live next to her oldest son Alan and his wife Shawna in the summer of 2018. She joined the Eureka Elks Emblem Club and was also a member of Eastern Star at the Arcata Masonic Lodge. Mary often danced the night away at the Eureka Elks Lodge with family and friends. Mary kept up her love for gardening at her new home in Eureka, you could find her in her garden every sunny day.

Mary loved her family and would have dinner parties whenever she could. She loved having her great grandchildren over to play and have fun. Mary lived a full and happy life surrounded by many friends and her large family.

Mary passed away of natural causes surrounded by her loving family on December 14, 2021.

Mary is survived by her children, Antoinette Pacheco of Willow Creek, Alan Bobillot (Shawna) of Eureka, David Bobillot (Jodi) of Ogden, Utah, and Andy Bobillot (Shannon) of Riddle, Oregon; her grandchildren, Jonelle Caldwell, Nicki Wilson, David Bobillot, Nicole Pacheco, Brad Wilson, Michael Bobillot, Natalie Pacheco, Stefon Mendez, Alex Bobillot, and Daniel Bobillot, Nick Harless, Hillarie Beyer, Travis Harless and great-grandchildren, Jenicee, Allyana, Jayden, Nettle, Malia, Preston, Maiah, Willow, Braeden, Hudson, Willow, Acacia, Adam, Talia, Marlowe and Cole as well as many, many other loving family members and friends.

A celebration of life will be held at the Eureka Elks Lodge on April 30, 2022 at 1 p.m.

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Louis Gene Duncan Jr. was born October 23, 1957 and passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, January 29, 2022 sitting at the table he made for his children and grandchildren; doing what he loved most, whittling a bow. Louie spent most of his 64 years working as a logger and fisherman. He was a hardworking man, when he was in the woods logging he was in his element. He loved his family and helped so many around him, so their lives may be a little more comfortable. He would see the ones who needed help the most and be there without even being asked.

His favorite thing besides logging and cutting big trees was being on the river netting salmon. He loved to fish, he loved to hunt, looking for agates, picking berries and gathering wild mushrooms. Louie was most at peace rowing his canoe up Little River.

He loved the sound of his chainsaw and the crack of the wood beneath his ax, he loved big fires but the thing that brought the biggest smile to his face was the strength of his children and the love they had for him.

Louie had his own set of rules, being very respectful of his elders and a protector to any child he encountered. His strength was that of a superhero and he was just that to many. He was a special man and made a positive impact on the lives of the people who knew him, loved him and those who were lucky enough to call him a friend. Our community lost an icon as he was loved, respected and admired by many.

Louis Gene Duncan Jr. was preceded in death by his mother Eva Duncan and son Louis D. Duncan.

Louis was survived by his father Louis Gene Duncan Sr., his siblings Sherry (Ken) King, Lois (Gary) O’Neil, Sandra Quinn, Louise Duncan and Dwayne (Ellen) Duncan. His life partner of 22 yrs Shelly Luna and her children; Anthony, Audrea and Symophony. His daughters; Darcey (Raggs) Duncan, Kasee Duncan and Selena Duncan. His grandchildren Rain, BuddyLee, Neveah, Riley, Alexis, Jordyn, Chase, Thomas, Sophia and Gabriella. Nephews Rob and Ryan Thompson, Ronnie O’Neil, David Lara, Raymond and Melvin Coffer and Dwyane ‘Bear’ Duncan. Nieces Dena Lara, Callie Duncan and Natascha King. Great nephews Theron, Tyler, Jace, Colby, Hunter, Thomas, Bryan, Jimi, Earl and Alonzo. Great nieces Zoe, Sophia, Ashley, Raina, Anita, Mariah, Koah, Aceland, Eva and Leilani. And many more extended family members and life long friends.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, February 19 at Perigot Park in Blue Lake at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, feel free to make donations to Captain Shellyfish Academy. My father was Shelly’s biggest supporter and was very proud of her nonprofit organization to support a new generation of young fisherman.

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