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Convicted Felon Arrested in Bishop

Press Release from the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office

BISHOP, CA, May 20, 2020 – On May 19 at approximately 10:30 PM, Inyo County Sheriff’s Deputies contacted and arrested Bishop resident and convicted felon, 48-year old Keeneeh Watterson, for active Inyo County Arrest Warrants. Watterson was arrested without incident and transported to the Inyo County Jail.

Inyo County Sheriff’s Deputies and MINT Investigators conducted a search of Watterson’s residence pursuant to Watterson’s terms of Post Release Community Supervision. During the search, Deputies located several items of concern including a loaded AR-15 style rifle with loaded magazines, an improvised explosive device (IED), approximately fifty pounds of Ammonium Nitrate blasting agent, a live blasting cap, and several live rounds of ammunition. All of the items were safely removed from the residence and retained as evidence.

Watterson was booked into the Inyo County Jail on the Inyo County Arrest Warrants, which included a No-Bail Warrant, along with the additional charges of: CPC 18710(a) – Possession of a destructive device; CPC 18720 – Possession of materials with intent to make a destructive device; CPC 29800(a)(1) – Felon in possession of a firearm; CPC 30305(a)(1) – Felon in possession of ammunition; and, CPC 3455(a) – Violation of terms of post release community supervision.

A New Regional Dispatch Center Could be Built in Bishop

The Bishop City Council unanimously voted 5-0 to approve funding for a site-study of a new regional dispatch center that would be based in Bishop.

The idea is for the Bishop Police Department, Mammoth Lakes Police Department, Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, and Mono County Sheriff’s Office to have all of their dispatchers working together in the same space.

Bishop Police Chief, Ted Stec argued in favor of the project saying, “A Regional Dispatch Center would save money because it would require less personnel from all agencies in the area in the long run.”

Mammoth Lakes PD and Mono and Inyo County Sheriff’s Offices are requesting that the City of Bishop pay $25,000 to help split the cost of the study of feasibility four ways with the total estimated at approximately $100,000 dollars.

Currently, Bishop has not budgeted for such a study, whereas other agencies have pooled together their resources and approved the funding for the investigation.

Council member Chris Costello of the City of Bishop seemed wary of the cost. “We already have a great dispatch center in place. I think if the system is not broken, then don’t fix it.” the council member stated.

However, Costello also said that he did not want to leave the town’s neighbors hanging out to dry, and brought forth the idea of providing $5,000 dollars of funding toward the study to in order to demonstrate good will.

Mayor Pro-Tempore Laura Smith expressed interest in the project saying, “Yes, we already have a good dispatch center set up, but we can make it even better by adding emergency medical dispatch services to the regional dispatch center.”

Police Chief Stec acknowledged the feasibility of adding medical services to the center but said the dispatchers would need further training in that realm to add it into the center’s repertoire.

During the meeting, it was apparent that most members of the city council were wary of being perceived as being bad neighbors. Karen Schwartz of the city council spoke on the issue saying, “I support the regional dispatch center because it supports the greater good and helps out our entire region.” Mayor Jim Ellis expressed similar feelings on the matter, and seconded Schwartz’s motion.

Rob Patterson, the Finance Director for the Town of Mammoth Lakes was in attendance and told the council he did not believe the project would be as expensive as the estimated price. “I don’t think the cost of the study will be $100,000.” Patterson said. “It may be around that amount, but we just want to ensure that there is enough money available to complete the study. There is also a chance that it could be something the California Office of Emergency Services covers, we have to explore that further.”

Shortly after, the council voted unanimously to approve funding not to exceed $25,000 dollars. Councilmen Costello and Muchovej reluctantly voted in favor of the study, whereas Smith, Schwartz, and Ellis supported the study.

The study is expected to take a few months, with no solid timetable available at the moment.

Paraglider Found Dead Near Sierra Crest

On August 14, at approximately 1:20pm, Inyo County Sheriff’s Dispatch received notification of an emergency In-Reach activation north of Striped Mountain near the Sierra Crest, south of Taboose Pass.

Further investigation revealed that the device was registered to Cody Tuttle, a 32-year old man from Swall Meadows above Bishop, CA. Tuttle was reported to be on a paragliding trip to Gabbs Nevada with two fellow paraglider pilots.

Inyo Sheriff requested aerial assistance from California Highway Patrol Inland Division Air Operations (H-80), as well as a helicopter from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park (SEKI). The SEKI helicopter located Tuttle at 12,600’ elevation and confirmed that he was deceased. CHP H-80 attempted to extract Tuttle, but due to altitude and afternoon heat they were unable to complete the recovery.

On August 15, CHP Coastal Division Air Operations (H-70) responded and recovered Tuttle; he was flown to the Bishop Airport where custody was transferred to the Inyo County Coroner.

Former Corporal in Sheriff’s Department Arrested

Former Inyo County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Nick Vaughn was arrested today by Investigators from the Inyo County District Attorney’s office on charges stemming from an alleged misappropriation of public funds.

 

After an internal investigation, the Sheriff’s Department referred the case to the District Attorney’s office for a criminal investigation.  After a lengthy investigation, a criminal complaint has been filed charging Mr. Vaughn with misappropriating over $10,000.00 that had been collected by him from participants in the Sheriff’s Department Work Release Program.  Participants in the program are required to pay certain fees to the Department, and it is alleged that a portion of those fees were diverted to Mr. Vaughn’s personal use or the use of other individuals.  Mr. Vaughn was the supervisor of the Work Release Program from approximately May, 2014 to March, 2018.

 

At this time, no other employees of the Sheriff’s Department are implicated in the investigation.

 

Mr. Vaughn was booked at the Inyo County Jail.  Bail on the arrest warrant was set at $15,000.00.

 

The District Attorney reminds the public that a defendant in any criminal case is presumed to be innocent until the contrary is proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Woman Arrested in Poverty Hills Area After Crashing

A woman was arrested Thursday after a vehicle spin-out in Poverty Hills.

22 year old, Kianna Hoops from Reno, Nevada was driving a gray Honda Accord south of Big Pine when she lost control of her vehicle for an unknown reason and spun out.

When Hoops lost control of her vehicle, CHP arrived on the scene to investigate the accident. While conducting an inspection, the officer checked inside the vehicle and discovered a lever action firearm as well as a small amount of drugs.

After running the serial number, the officer determined that the firearm was not registered to Hoops, and was stolen.

Kianna Hoops was subsequently arrested for possession of stolen property, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was detained and booked at the Inyo County Jail. Her bail is set for $15,000.

Bishop Man Arrested for Attempted Murder

BISHOP, CA. April 29, 2019 – Inyo County Sheriff’s Office Deputies were dispatched shortly after midnight to South Valley View, Bishop, CA, for a report of a gunshot victim with the suspect still on scene.

Sheriff’s Deputies along with the assistance of California Highway Patrol, Mono County Sheriff, and Bishop Police arrived at the location and made entry into the residence. The victim was located with a gunshot wound to the leg.

Justin Montgomery, a 37-year old Bishop man, was arrested on the following charges: attempted murder, assault with a firearm on a person, domestic violence, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, violation of domestic violence court order, and violation of probation.

The victim was transported to Northern Inyo Hospital; Montgomery was arrested without incident and booked into the Inyo County Jail.

Former Inyo SO employee arrested

Debra Didisee Arrested on Embezzlement Charges

District Attorney Investigators arrested former Correctional Officer Debra Didisee on embezzlement charges Thursday morning after she voluntarily surrendered herself at the DA’s office. The District Attorney has filed a complaint alleging six felony counts and one misdemeanor count of embezzlement which are alleged to have occurred over a four year period while she was employed as a Correctional Officer for the Inyo County Sheriff. The Sheriff had referred the matter to the District Attorney’s office for investigation in December when the Sheriff’s Department became aware of potential missing funds in the Inmate Welfare Account and the Inmate Commissary Account at the Inyo County Jail. Ms. Didisee is no longer employed by the Sheriff’s Department.

Ms. Didisee was booked at the Inyo County Jail and posted a $35,000.00 bail bond. She was ordered to appear in the Inyo County Superior Court on April 20, 2015.

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Big Trouble for owner of Dusty’s Pets

Bishop Pet Store owner pleads no contest

Inyo County Sheriffs department press release:

Inyo County Animal Services Officers recently conducted an investigation into the current owner of Dusty’s Pet Store, 56 year old Rick Rennaker from Bishop, following several calls from the public regarding the health and welfare of animals for sale. The investigation, which began shortly after Rennaker opened for business in December of 2014, resulted in multiple citations.
On February 23rd, Rennaker entered a plea of no contest to two misdemeanor pet shop violations: (failure to properly house, feed, and take reasonable care to sell animals free of disease or injury). Rennaker was placed on 24-month summary probation; he is not to own, operate or work in any business regarding the sale of animals.

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Bishop Tribe Defends Officer

BISHOP PAIUTE TRIBE SUPPORTS TRIBAL POLICE OFFICER

The Bishop Paiute Tribe issued the following statement:

“The Bishop Paiute Tribe would like to take this opportunity to state its support of Tribal Police Officer Daniel Johnson. The Bishop Tribe has maintained a police department since 2009 and its mission is to ensure public safety to the reservation residents and visitors. The incident leading to Officer Johnson’s arrest occurred on December 24, 2014, after he responded to a tribal member’s call for protection in a disturbance by a non-Indian individual who is ordered by both the tribal and state courts to have no contact with the tribal member. Officer Johnson was acting under tribal authority and was carrying out his duties as a Tribal Police Officer for the Bishop Paiute Tribe at the time of the incident.
The Tribe wishes to thank Officer Johnson for his past and continued service to the Tribe and recognize his commitment to the safety and well-being of the Bishop Paiute Reservation and all of its residents. The Tribe and the Tribal Police Department have worked earnestly in the past with the Sheriff’s Department to ensure the public safety on the Bishop Reservation. It is unfortunate and regrettable that the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney has taken the unprecedented actions against Officer Johnson and fails to recognize the inherent Tribal sovereignty of the Bishop Paiute Tribe (including the authority bestowed to our Tribal Police Department). The Bishop Paiute Tribal Police Department continues its commitment to public safety and the protection of all citizens and residents of the Reservation and surrounding communities.”

Johnson,  arrested on January 6th, is facing charges of battery,  false imprisonment, and acting under the color of authority.

RESPONSE FROM DISTRICT ATTORNEY TOM HARDY

Response to Bishop Paiute Tribe Press Release of February 17, 2015
On or about January 5, 2015, the District Attorney filed a criminal complaint alleging three felony charges and one misdemeanor charge against Mr. Daniel Johnson. Specifically, he is charged with
violating Penal Code section 244.5(b), assault with a stun gun; Penal Code section 236, false imprisonment; Penal Code section146a(b), falsely representing himself to be a public officer; and Penal Code section 242, simple battery. The charges are based on allegations that Mr. Johnson used unlawful force on the person of another, and was the result of an investigation conducted by the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department.
The District Attorney’s office reviewed the investigation reports with the same degree of scrutiny that it would apply to any case submitted to it, and determined that sufficient legal cause existed to file the case and to proceed in court. Mr. Johnson is, of course, presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Pursuant to an Act of Congress, State law enforcement authorities in the State of California are obligated to investigate and prosecute crimes alleged to have been committed on reservation lands in
the state, including the Bishop Paiute Reservation. The Inyo County District Attorney takes its obligation to provide criminal justice services to all citizens of Inyo County, including all tribal
members and reservation residents, very seriously.
As we all know from recent events around our nation, no one, including peace officers employed by federal, state, and local agencies, are immune from investigation and prosecution of alleged criminal acts. The charges against Mr. Johnson will proceed in court and he will receive all of the protections accorded to anyone charged with a crime. Because of Congress’s grant of criminal jurisdiction to California state authorities, this case has nothing to do with tribal sovereignty. The District Attorney absolutely respects the sovereignty of the Bishop Paiute Tribe, and all of the federally-recognized tribes in our County. The office will continue to work with all stake-holders to ensure equal access to justice for everyone in Inyo County.

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