Cheerleaders shine .................. A2
Cleaning up on Earth Day ..... A11
SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879 www.triplicate.com
FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2022
Crescent City, CA
Filthy jail conditions exposed to supervisors Acting sheriff says photos are taken out of context By DANIEL J. SCHMIDT Editor
The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors were confronted at Tuesday’s board meeting with photographs depicting filthy conditions inside a cell that had been occupied by an inmate who has been described as mentally ill. During the public comments portion of the board meeting, local civic activist Linda Sutter display a poster-sized collage of
three photos. The inmate “was forced to lay in a squalor of feces, piss, and garbage, with a ripped up mattress for a period of 10 to 15 days,” Sutter said. Correctional officers “failed their duty to act, the sergeants turned a blind eye, and the lieutenants who are running the Sheriff’s Office just didn’t care, “Sutter said. “These pictures are of one Please see Jail, Page A2
Contributed photos
Photos presented to the board of supervisors showed the conditions and mentally ill inmate was kept in at the county jail. The acting sheriff claims the photos are not an accurate depiction of conditions at the jail.
Are skeletons hiding in Masten’s closet? Hiller sentenced to 116 years for murder By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Triplicate
A Crescent City man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after he was convicted last week of second degree murder. Neil Thomas Hiller, 34, was found guilty of the charge with special allegations of using a firearm and having a prior serious felony and was sentenced to 116 years to life in prison. Hiller was also convicted of violating community supervision in a separate case. Hiller was arrested in April of last year and charged with murder in the death of 22-year-old Joseph Deford. The case began when the sheriff’s office received a 9-1-1 call reporting a man lying on the ground in the 200 block of Harding Avenue. When first responders arrived, they found Deford unresponsive. The first officer attempted CPR and other life-saving activities, but could not revive Deford. It wasn’t until he was at the hospital before doctors realized Deford had been shot with a small-caliber gun. Police were able to zero in on Hiller after surveillance video Please see Murder, Page A2
By DANIEL J. SCHMIDT The Triplicate
Some claim that there may be skeletons hidden in the closet at the Steelhead Lodge in Klamath Glen. The Steelhead Lodge consists of a restaurant, an eight-unit motel, a vacation cabin, a manager’s residence and garage, and a 20-space recreational vehicle park. It is owned by Del Norte County Supervisor Susan Masten, together with her husband Leonard, pictured here in front of the Masten residence at the Lodge. During the COVID crisis, the restaurant business faced difficult times, and was put up for sale last September. The subsequent sale of the property to the Yurok Tribe, the governor’s announcement of a $2.2 million grant to the Yurok Tribe to purchase and improve the property, and the Governor’s appointment of Masten to fill the seat on the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors that was left vacant by the passing of the Bob Berkowitz have fueled speculation that some backroom deal was reached. The details and sequence of these events are further explored in a commentary presented on Page 4.
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Obituaries.................................... A3 Crossword................................... A6 Classifieds................................... A7 Crossword Answers.................... A9 Weather..................................... A12
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