Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Chris Betts is a member of the Reserve Diving Group (RDG) after completing a full career as a Royal Navy clearance diver before.
Siskiyou Daily News
The brother of a man who was beaten in the Yreka Greenway and later died of his injuries told the 20-year-old responsible that although he s mad as hell at the situation, he doesn t want to see him spend the rest of his life in prison.
Noah William Smith, a Yreka-area transient, will spend a minimum of 16 to 17 years behind bars for beating 53-year-old Yreka s Joseph Hendricks on Feb. 24, as well as maliciously setting fire in the Montague area in July of 2020, said Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus. What you did is insane, youngster, Montana Hendricks said to Smith during Tuesday s sentencing hearing in Yreka, adding that he wishes he d have been there for his brother on that fateful day. Find the good dude inside you and get past the darkness.
Siskiyou Daily News
An early morning explosion that prompted numerous 911 calls led to the recovery of improvised explosive devices on Tuesday, said Yreka Police Department Lt. Chris Betts.
The incendiary devices, thought to be pipe bombs, were found when officers with the Yreka Police Department and the Yreka Fire Department responded to the 100 block of Bruce Street just before 4:15 a.m., Betts said.
One of the devices had been detonated and the other partially detonated, Betts said. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad responded and over the next three hours, safely collected the devices.
A pipe bomb is in improvised explosive device made by putting explosives into a section of sealed pipe. They can include materials like glass and nails that cause more damage when they explode.
Man accused of Yreka Greenway murder surprises court with guilty plea
Siskiyou Daily News
A Yreka-area transient accused of murder surprised prosecutors on Tuesday when he changed his plea from not guilty to guilty midway through a preliminary hearing at the Siskiyou County Courthouse.
Noah William Smith, age 20, is accused of severely beating 53-year-old Yreka resident Joseph Hendricks on Feb. 24 in a homeless encampment in the Yreka Greenway. Hendricks later died of his injuries.
During Tuesday s preliminary hearing, Senior Deputy District Attorney Melissa Whetstine was preparing to present evidence when the defense handed a “plea form” to the judge, said Siskiyou County DA Kirk Andrus. Such forms are used for defendants to acknowledge that they understand their rights and to indicate a plea of guilty or no contest, Andrus explained.