By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
You probably didn’t know it at the time, but from May of 2021 to January of 2022, there were 15 incidents of someone throwing fist-sized rocks at moving vehicles in northern Glenn County.
And these are just the cases that were reported to law enforcement agencies.
So far as is known, nobody was injured. However, several vehicles were damaged.
All the incidents happened between County Road 25 in the south and County Road 3 in the north. Two of the incidents occurred on Highway 99, while the other 13 happened on Interstate 5.
Of the ones on I-5, only three involved vehicles traveling north. Five occurred in the area of County Road 5.
Eleven of the incidents happened on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays, all between the hours of 6:50 p.m. and 3:21 a.m. Most occurred around 10 p.m., give or take an hour.
Three separate incidents were reported on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, and two incidents were reported on Sunday, Oct. 10. So far as is known, there was only one incident on each of the other dates on which rocks were thrown at vehicles.
Here are summaries of the 15 known incidents:
Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 7:47 p.m.: The thrower was on the Stony Creek Bridge over Interstate 5. Two vehicles traveling south on I-5 at Stony Creek were hit.
Sunday, July 25, 2021, at 6:50 p.m.: The thrower was on County Road 5, west of I-5, where it ends at the freeway. Two vehicles traveling south on I-5 were hit.
Friday, Aug. 20, 2021, at 3:21 a.m.: The thrower was on County Road HH, west of I-5. A vehicle traveling south on I-5, south of County Road 16, was hit.
Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, at 10:38 p.m.: The thrower was again on County Road HH, west of I-5. A vehicle traveling south on I-5, south of County Road 16, was hit.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, at 2:10 a.m.: The thrower was north of Highway 32 (Newville Road), west of I-5. A vehicle traveling south on I-5, north of Highway 32, was hit.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, at 10:45 p.m.: The thrower was on County Road HH, west of I-5. A vehicle traveling south on I-5, south of County Road 16, was hit.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, at 11:45 p.m.: the thrower was in a vehicle on Highway 99, north of County Road 9; A vehicle traveling north on Highway 99, north of Road 9, was hit.
Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, at 1:25 a.m.: The thrower was on County Road 5, west of I-5. A vehicle traveling south on I-5 was hit.
Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, at 8:57 p.m.: The thrower was in a vehicle on Highway 99, north of County Road 9. A vehicle traveling north on Highway 99, north of Road 9, was hit.
Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, at 10:10 p.m.: The thrower was north of Highway 32, east of I-5. A vehicle traveling north on I-5, north of Highway 32, was hit.
Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, at 10:13 p.m.: The thrower was on the County Road 20 overpass of I-5. A vehicle traveling north on I-5 was hit.
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at 10:10 p.m.: The thrower was on County Road 5, west of I-5. A vehicle traveling south on I-5 was hit.
10:31 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, at 10:31 p.m.: The thrower was on County Road 5, west of I-5. A vehicle traveling south on I-5 was hit.
Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021, at 9:35 p.m.: The thrower was on County Road 5, west of I-5. A vehicle traveling south on I-5 was hit.
Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, at 9:45 p.m.: The thrower was on Interstate 5 at County Road 25. A vehicle traveling north on I-5 was hit.
The incidents on July 25, 2021, happened during daylight hours. There were two separate victims.
The first victim’s vehicle was struck by a large rock thrown from Road 5, west of I-5. The victim described the suspects as two juveniles, and an associated vehicle as a grey sedan.
The second victim described the suspects as two white male juveniles both wearing white cut-off shirts, hiding behind the billboard on Road 5.
On Sept. 18, motion activated cameras were installed in the cul-de-sac of County Road 5, on the west side of I-5, which is in a relatively remote and rarely traveled area of Glenn County. The cameras were set to monitor traffic as it moves in and out of the cul-de-sac.
Several vehicles were captured on the cameras. Specifically, on Sept. 26, at 9:35 p.m., and on Sept. 28 at 9:32 p.m., a light-colored sedan was seen.
This vehicle had a California license plate of 6WRR955. The plate returned to a 2012 Toyota Camry.
While the cameras were not in place, two more incidents occurred on I-5, one in the area of Road 5 and one in the area of Road 20. The cameras were reinstalled on Oct. 18.
At 9:46 p.m. on Oct. 31, the cameras obtained photos of a vehicle with a partially illegible license plate of 6???955. The taillights in the photos were consistent with the previously mentioned Toyota Camry with the plate of 6WRR955.
No other vehicles were photographed entering or leaving the cul-de-sac between the arrival of the suspect vehicle at 9:46 p.m. and the rock-throwing incident at 10:25 p.m. At 10:26 p.m., one minute after the rock-throwing incident, the cameras took a photo of a vehicle leaving the area.
On Nov. 8, Judge Alicia Ekland signed a Vehicle Tracker Search Warrant authored by California Highway Patrol Officer Cushman. The next day, the tracking device was placed on the Toyota Camry so that the vehicle’s whereabouts and movements could be monitored.
The device was removed on Dec. 9. There were no reported rock throwing incidents while the tracking device was in operation.
At about 9 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, while on County Road 5 between County Road HH and the cul-de-sac just west of Interstate 5, CHP Officer Nick DeFrancesco contacted Mericin Alexis Madera, 18, and a 15-year-old boy. They were in the back seat of the aforementioned Toyota Camry and were almost completely nude, having apparently been engaging in sexual activity.
Glenn County Sheriff’s Deputy Clinton Turner responded to the area to assist Officer DeFrancesco.
Madera was arrested by Officer DeFrancesco. Her iPhone 12 Pro Max was seized as evidence.
Madera, a sales representative who lives in Corning, was booked into the Glenn County Jail on charges alleging annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18. This crime is known as a “wobbler,” meaning it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, but at this point it was charged as only a felony.
Her bail was set at $5,000.
When charges were filed by the Glenn County District Attorney’s Office on March 2, they included not only the one alleging annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18, but also unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is less than three years younger than the alleged perpetrator. This, too, is a misdemeanor.
Madera’s defense attorney is Wendy Rudith Casas-Raviotta, whose law office is in Woodland. The lead prosecutor in the case is Assistant District Attorney Ruby Neumann.
Early this year, CHP officers determined that a “forensic data analysis” of Madera’s iPhone would likely provide evidence regarding the alleged sex crimes involving Madera, as well as the rock throwing incidents. Further investigation of the iPhone, which at the time was being held by the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office, was awaiting approval of a warrant.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, Mericin Alexis Madera is reported to have called the Willows CHP office and demanded to have her iPhone returned to her. At 9:49 a.m., a CHP officer who was involved in the case contacted Madera by phone and told her the iPhone had been taken as evidence and would not be returned to her anytime soon.
The officer requested to meet with Madera in person. She was told she would not be arrested and the CHP was not planning on searching her person or property at this time.
She consented to meet at her home in Corning.
At about 5:40 p.m., CHP officers met with Madera at her home. Madera met with the officers on her front porch.
She was accompanied by her mother, but her mother spoke Spanish only and the officers were unable to communicate with her. Madera was again informed that she was not under arrest and that a search of her person or property was not going to happen during the interview.
Madera provided the following statement, in essence: She reported she is in a romantic relationship with the 15-year-old boy and all their parents are aware of their relationship.
She allegedly admitted they have been sexually active together. She said that on more than one occasion, she has taken the boy to the location on County Road 5 to have private time with him.
Madera was told that the Toyota Camry she drives has been seen in the same area, at the same times as several incidents of rocks being thrown at and hitting moving vehicles. Madera denied throwing any rocks at vehicles, stating, “I did not throw rocks.”
The officers asked if she could help them figure out who was throwing the rocks. She then invoked her rights by saying, “You can ask my lawyer in court.”
At that point, the interview was stopped.
The interview was recorded on a digital voice recorder, but the device subsequently failed, and the recording was erased prior to downloading it onto a data disc.
According to the CHP, the rocks that were thrown were about the size of a “fist” or a “baseball”. Officers believe the rock-throwing was malicious, willful, and intended to cause great bodily harm or death.
According to Section 23110 (b) of the California Vehicle Code, “Any person who with intent to do great bodily injury maliciously and willfully throws or projects any rock, brick, bottle, metal or other missile, or projects any other substance capable of doing serious bodily harm at such vehicle or occupant thereof is guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison.”
CHP officers believe that a thorough search of Madera’s iPhone could provide evidence not only regarding the rock throwing, but also the sexual relationship between Madera and the 15-year-old boy. Hence the application for a warrant to search the iPhone.
A pretrial conference is scheduled before Judge Donald Cole Byrd at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 5.
The Glenn County Observer 