Fort Bragg Police Department

Update Social Services takes custody of 10-year-old boy after drugs seized at suspect’s residence—— original story—-19-year-old Woman Abducted at Gunpoint and Sexually Assaulted in Fort Bragg; Officers Respond Quickly and Arrest Two Suspects Near Fire Station

Update- the police have issued a second press relase after the residence of one of the kidnapping suspects was searched:


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At this point, police don’t have any other cases that can be tied to these suspects but are investigating.

Since the California Judicial Council and the Mendocino County Court system have locked the press out of court files, we’re left with no option but to publish press releases—and we’re doing that. It’s a terrible situation. From what we can gather, Fort Bragg Police made a swift arrest in a horrific case. But beyond that, we’ll only know what’s spoon-fed to us.

Thanks to the California Judicial Council—for prioritizing secrecy over public accountability.

We were working on a data and case analysis of how sexual assault cases on the Coast. We pulled all the court files we could find and talked to people who had made reports. The initial findings showed a much stronger police response than what some people allege and also by the DA. But we can’t say that’s true. The California Judicial Council locked us out of the court files halfway through, pushing the county to close them off entirely for more than a week. Since then we have made 5 trips to the court house but have yet to try the new , often broken court computer or be able to figure out the bizarre off days and hours of the courts. Once, the judge was out of town so everything was closed down. It closes super early and to complete my search in this system would cost me thousands of dollars. It costs a lot of money to look at any file. TO LOOK. And then 90 percent of them don’t fit when you do look, that’s just how statistical analysis works.

Justice system? LOL. Don’t call me for jury duty to an inaccessible court system. I have zero confidence in it and I never thought that before, much less said it. If a government is above review, criticism and independent voices, its not American in any way. Just trust ’em cuz they say so.

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Start your day with Company Juice in Fort Bragg, California

Frank Hartzell

Frank Hartzell has spent his lifetime as a curious anthropologist in a reporter's fedora. His first news job was chasing news on the streets of Houston with high school buddy and photographer James Mason, back in 1986. Then Frank graduated from Humboldt State and went to Great Gridley as a reporter, where he bonded with 1000 people and told about 3000 of their stories. In Marysville at the Appeal Democrat, the sheltered Frank got to see both the chilling depths and amazing heights of humanity. From there, he worked at the Sacramento Bee covering Yuba-Sutter and then owned the Business Journal in Yuba City, which sold 5000 subscriptions to a free newspaper. Frank then got a prestigious Kiplinger Investigative Reporting fellowship and was city editor of the Newark Ohio, Advocate and then came back to California for 4 years as managing editor of the Napa Valley Register before working as a Dominican University professor, then coming to Fort Bragg to be with his aging mom, Betty Lou Hartzell, and working for the Fort Bragg Advocate News. Frank paid the bills during that decade + with a successful book business. He has worked for over 50 publications as a freelance writer, including the Mendocino Voice and Anderson Valley Advertiser, along with construction and engineering publications. He has had the thrill of learning every day while writing. Frank is now living his dream running MendocinoCoast.News with wife, Linda Hartzell, and web developer, Marty McGee, reporting from Fort Bragg, California.

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