Unfortunate failure of rehabilitation : 22-year-old Weed man sentenced to 11 years in prison
Siskiyou Daily News
A 22-year-old Weed man that committed increasingly disruptive crimes and failed to abide by terms of probation was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years in state prison.
Cavonte Amaru Gary Shumlia was sentenced on 19 separate charges – including a September 2020 pursuit that reached 120 miles per hour – and probation violations from two previous cases, said Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus.
“We never want to send a person this young to prison unless they effectively close off all other avenues,” Andrus said of the case, which he called an unfortunate failure of rehabilitation.
Siskiyou Daily News
The case against a 22-year-old Siskiyou County Jail inmate accused of strangling a fellow inmate to death will have his case suspended until at least February while he undergoes a mental evaluation, said Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus.
Brenan McCovey, a resident of Orleans, was charged with murdering Happy Camp resident Alan Gene Gibson, Jr., 47, on Dec. 13. He had been jailed on Oct. 16 on charges of vehicle theft and obstructing and resisting arrest, the Siskiyou County Sheriff s Office reported.
In court on Tuesday, McCovey s public defender Margaret Weems declared a doubt as to McCovey s mental competency. Andrus said this means he lacks the ability to understand the proceedings and to assist in his defense.
Yreka man gets 12 years in prison for robbing man, forcing him from motel room
Siskiyou Daily News
A Yreka man convicted of robbery, false imprisonment and several other offenses stemming from a crime spree in the spring of 2019 was sentenced Tuesday to more than 12 years in prison.
Legal proceedings against Joseph Michael Kivett, 32, were drawn out for months, Andrus said, after he originally pled guilty in September of 2019, then later filed two motions to withdraw his pleas which were ultimately denied, said Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus.
The crime spree began on March 13, 2019, when Kivett surprised a woman who was hanging out after midnight in a vehicle with his girlfriend, Stacy Phillips, Andrus explained. Phillips asked the woman what she thought of Kivett, before Kivett himself arose from where he was hiding in the back seat of the car and began to berate the victim.
Siskiyou Daily News
Due to the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Siskiyou County and throughout the state, including Siskiyou, jury cases at the Siskiyou County Court will be delayed until January, at least.
Judge Karen Dixon had hoped cases would resume this month.
The tentative plan is now to begin the jury trial of Michael Lee Wilson on Jan. 11. Wilson is accused of attempted murder in a stabbing in Mount Shasta in July of 2019.
Siskiyou County district attorney Kirk Andrus said he understands the reasons for the delay. “From our perspective it just isn’t safe for jurors to gather and congregate at this time due to the COVID classification we are under,” he said.