Storms and Holidays Bring Flurry of First‑Responder Calls; Forks Ranch Market Among Inland Sites Hit, Suspects Arrested, Property Recovered

I’m sorry to report it’s been an unusually busy stretch for law enforcement in our county—right in the middle of the Holidays and on top of all this bad weather. The scanner has been far too active tonight. As always, we don’t report scanner chatter unless it involves a potential threat the public needs to know about, so most of what we’re hearing won’t make it into print until we can confirm details.

For now, we do have a press release alleging that a major burglary ring was broken up, with arrests made at Forks Ranch Market in Ukiah. The market sits just outside the city limits on State Street, heading out of town toward 253. I’ve always wondered about that store—and I’ve always liked the name. Some people online call it “Folks Ranch Market,” but the correct name is Forks Ranch Market. While it sounds like a great food‑business pun, “Forks” actually refers to the historic name of the area, according to old clippings.

We were also curious about the market’s history. The oldest story I could find dates back to 1976, when burglars allegedly rammed a van into a local bar, stole from it, and then moved on to the Forks Ranch Market to try to break in. A sheriff’s deputy caught them in the act and fired into their van as they fled.

Here is the press release:

Victim (s): Forks Ranch Market in Ukiah, CA

Suspect(s): Simeon Reed (23-year-old male from Kelseyville, CA)
Daniel Goodwin (24-year-old male from Sacramento, CA)
Tobias Menefee (26-year-old male from Sacramento, CA)
Demare Burgess(30-year-old male from Sacramento, CA)

Written By: Aaron Clark #1317

Synopsis:

On December 23, 2025, at approximately 3:00 a.m., deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a burglary at the Forks Ranch Market in Ukiah. The suspects forced entry into the business and stole lottery tickets, currency, and other identifiable items from inside the store.​

During the initial investigation, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office notified Mendocino County dispatch that they were actively investigating two commercial burglaries in their jurisdiction and had located a suspect vehicle in the area of Clearlake Oaks. Lake County deputies detained four suspects associated with the vehicle and observed property inside that was consistent with items reported stolen from the Forks Ranch Market, as well as from their recently discovered burglaries.​

Deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office responded to assist the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and confirmed that the suspects were in possession of stolen property from the Forks Ranch Market. Nearly all of the property stolen from the Forks Ranch Market was recovered and is currently in the process of being returned to the Forks Ranch Market. Investigators from the California Lottery also assisted with the investigation related to the stolen lottery products.​

Further investigation revealed that the suspect vehicle and additional property located within it matched the description of a vehicle and loss associated with a separate burglary in the City of Ukiah, which the Ukiah Police Department was investigating and which occurred around the same time as the Forks Ranch Market burglary. The connected investigations indicated that the burglaries shared the same suspect vehicle, a similar number of suspects, and consistent methods of operation.​

Due to strong collaboration and communication between community members, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Ukiah Police Department, and the California Lottery, the involved suspects were identified, and arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Lake County Correctional Facility on charges related to the series of burglaries and associated criminal conspiracy and each suspect is being held in custody in lieu of $150,000.00 bail. A large majority of the victims’ reported property from the affected businesses was located and is currently in the process of being returned.