On 12/15/2023 Lakeport Police Officers received a tip that there were images posted on an online social media page of two juveniles who were posing with firearms. Lakeport Police Officers viewed the images and found that the images were as reported and that the juveniles were wearing clothing and displaying other common indicators of being associated with a criminal street gang. On this same day at approximately 1342 hours, Lakeport Police Officers were dispatched to a residence associated with the juveniles in which it was reported that shots had been fired. The address was in the 300 block of Armstrong St. in the City of Lakeport. This location is a residential neighborhood that is located near the Lake County Fair Grounds. At the time of the officer’s response to this location, no additional shots were heard.
Lakeport Police Officers continued to investigate this case and gathered additional evidence that the two juveniles were in possession of firearms and were associated with criminal gang activity. Lakeport Officers applied for a search warrant for the address in the 300 block of Armstrong St as well as two other addresses they were able to determine through their investigation that the juveniles commonly resided.
On 12/19/2023 at approximately 1045 hours, prior to the service of the search warrant at the three locations, there was an additional shots fired call at the address in the 300 block of Armstrong St. Officers responded to the address and found one of the suspect juveniles leaving the location. This juvenile, a 16-year-old male out of Lakeport, had an unserved warrant for his arrest. The juvenile was arrested for his warrant at that time. No firearms were located on the juvenile when he was arrested. The juvenile was subsequently transported to the Mendocino County Juvenile Hall by Lake County Probation.
At approximately 1330 hours Lakeport Police Officers, Detectives with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Probation Officers with Lake County Probation, and Investigators from the Lake County District Attorney’s Office responded to the three locations of the search warrant and executed searches of the locations pursuant to the warrant simultaneously.
At the conclusion of the searches, two of the firearms the juveniles posed with in the images on social media were recovered as well as a box of ammo containing various rounds of ammunition. One firearm was a Walther P22 .22 caliber pistol which had a laser pointer/flashlight attachment on it and the other was a .38 caliber revolver. The Walther P22 was found to be loaded at the time it was located. There were also .22 caliber casings found at the location in the 300 block of Armstrong St.
During the service of the search warrant, Lakeport Police Officers gained information that the other juvenile, a 17-year-old male, was somewhere in the Ukiah, CA area. Officers contacted the Ukiah Police Department and briefed them on the nature of this case and the search warrant. Lakeport Police Officers also completed a probable cause declaration for the arrest of the other juvenile for felony violation of 29610(a) of the California Penal Code, Minor in possession of a firearm. At approximately 1730 hours, Ukiah Police Officers located the other juvenile and placed them under arrest per the Lakeport Police Officer’s probable cause declaration. The juvenile was also transported to the Mendocino County Juvenile Hall for booking.
Lakeport Police Officers then completed a probable cause declaration for the 16-year-old who was arrested in Lakeport initially for the warrant for his arrest. The 16-year-old was charged with felony violations of 29610(a)PC, Minor in Possession of a Gun and 243.6(a)PC, Negligent Discharge of a firearm.
The Lakeport Police Department would like to thank our partners with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Probation Department, Lake County District Attorney’s Office, and Ukiah Police Department for their assistance with this investigation and apprehension of the involved suspects.
