From NCJ Daily
Gang Related
T
he Humboldt District Attorney’s Office has charged four men with the 2014 gang-related murder of a 14-year-old Arcata boy. The Eureka Police Department held a Feb. 4 press conference to announce that — with the help of an anonymous letter identifying the suspects — it had cracked the case, some 14 months after Jesus “Smiley” Romero-Garcia was found in a residential Eureka neighborhood bleeding to death from three stab wounds to his chest on the morning of Dec. 17, 2014. Police allege the killing was gang-related, and that all four suspects have deep gang affiliations and ties to the Eureka area. Joe Olivo Jr., 37, who was arrested Feb. 3 at Pelican Bay State Prison is allegedly a “validated Mexican Mafia gang member. His son, Joe Olivo III, 18, who was arrested Feb. 2 by the San Luis Obispo Probation Department and Gang Task Force, is allegedly a Sureño gang member. Mario Nunez, 30, who was arrested Feb. 2 at San Quentin State Prison, is an alleged “validated Sureño gang member” from Watsonville. And Nicholas Leigl, 33, who was arrested by Eureka officers Feb. 3, allegedly has a history with the local 18th Street Gang. Police haven’t released a specific motive for the slaying, but said it appears to
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have concerned “an internal dispute within the gang.” Prosecutors also charged the four defendants with a special circumstance alleging that they were active participants in a criminal street gang that killed Romero-Garcia for the “furtherance of the gang’s activities.” While the special allegation makes the case eligible for the death penalty, Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming announced she won’t be pursuing it and, instead, will seek life-without-the-possibility-of-parole sentences for Olivo Jr., Nunez and Leigl. Olivo III was 17 years old at the time of the killing and is consequently a juvenile in the eyes of the court. He is being tried as an adult in the case, but his juvenile status means the maximum sentence he can receive in the case is 25 years to life in prison, and he will become parole eligible after 20. Pressed for specifics about the killing — like which of the four men is alleged to have fatally stabbed the Romero-Garcia, whether the teenager was a gang member, and what specifically precipitated the stabbing — Fleming declined to answer, saying those questions would have to be answered at trial. — Thadeus Greenson POSTED 02.05.16 READ FULL COVERAGE AT WWW.NORTHCOASTJOURNAL.COM.
Huffman Pushes Pot Advertising Legislation: North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman is supporting legislation to amend the federal Controlled Substances Act to allow the mailing of marijuana advertising through the postal service as long as the ads are in compliance with state law. The USPS has said mailing such advertisements is illegal and threatened to refer newspapers — including the Journal — for prosecution. POSTED 02.04.16
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Digitally Speaking The number of combined seats on the newly announced, twice-daily plane service from Humboldt County to Portland via Pen Air that will begin in April. POSTED 02.05.16
Pins and Needles
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Stevie Di’Luxe of Eureka revealed some tattoos and fancy shoes while competing on stage at the Miss Inked Hearts Contest at annual tattoo expo at Blue Lake Casino. POSTED 02.08.16 — Mark Larson
No Charges: Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming announced that she has reviewed the fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred Sept. 4 near Weitchpec and determined that Hoopa Tribal Police Sgt. Seth Ruiz acted in self-defense when he returned fire during a shootout, shooting and killing 47-year-old Richard Kelley. POSTED 02.05.16
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The Pothole Pitfall: Following up on a reader-provided list of the worst roads in Humboldt County, the Journal found that few are scheduled for repair. Officials tell the Journal that local public works departments depend on a patchwork of funding to fix local roads, and there simply isn’t enough money to meet the demand, meaning lower-volume streets aren’t getting scheduled for repair. POSTED 02.06.16
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They Said It
Comment Of The Week
“This has been an over 20-year pursuit. There’s been an interest in that property for a long time.”
“Sounds great, but $400+ is a bit steep for most folks.”
— Arcata Environmental Services Director Mark Andre, about the city and Humboldt State University’s joint negotiations to potentially purchase part of a 58-acre property on Bayview Street adjacent to the Community Forest and HSU. POSTED 02.10.16
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— Sue McIntyre, commenting on the Journal’s Facebook page about news that Pen Air will start twice-daily direct plane service from ACV to Portland in April. POSTED 02.05.16
northcoastjournal.com • NORTH COAST JOURNAL • Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016
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