Orland man dies on 99

By Larry Judkins

Glenn County Observer

About two minutes before 8 o’clock Sunday evening, a fatal motorcycle crash occurred on Newville Road near Wackerman Road, to which the Orland Volunteer Fire Department responded.

About seven minutes later, Orland volunteers also responded to a fatal rollover crash on Highway 99, south of County Road 21.

The deceased in both accidents were Orland men in their early 20s.

According to a press release from the Willows Area Office of the California Highway Patrol, at about 8:05 p.m. on May 18, Jonathan Cuin Perez, 24, of Orland, was driving a 1988 Chevy north on Highway 99, south of County Road 21, at an unknown speed but above the 55 miles per hour speed limit.

He turned the vehicle to the east, where it traveled across the northbound road edge, onto a gravel shoulder, and through a perimeter fence.

The Chevy overturned several times before coming to rest in an agriculture field east of Highway 99.

According to CHP Officer Gilliam, Jonathan Cuin Perez was not wearing his seatbelts at the time of the accident.

Police scanner broadcasts indicated that the driver was pinned inside the vehicle and not breathing.

He was soon removed and emergency responders initiated CPR, but their life-saving efforts were unsuccessful.

A preliminary investigation into the cause of this accident is still pending.

It is presently unknown if alcohol and/or drugs were a contributing factor.

For the story regarding the fatal motorcycle accident near Black Butte Lake, see The Observer story, “Motorcyclist dies near Black Butte Lake”.

Motorcyclist dies near Black Butte Lake

By Larry Judkins

Glenn County Observer

A young Orland man died in a motorcycle crash on Newville Road near Black Butte Lake Sunday evening.

At about 7:58 p.m. on May 18, the Redding Communications Center broadcast a report of a motorcycle vs. tree traffic crash on Newville Road, north of Wackerman Road.

The motorcycle was a 2009 Suzuki GSXR-600. The only occupant of the Suzuki was the driver, identified by the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office as Ranulfo Hernandez Mendez, 21, of Orland.

According to Officer Eric Taylor of the Red Bluff Office of the California Highway Patrol, the driver of the Suzuki was traveling south on Newville Road, north of Wackerman Road, when, for unknown reasons, he failed to negotiate a sweeping right curve in the road.

The Suzuki crossed over the northbound lane and continued in an easterly direction, where it went off the east side of the roadway.

The Suzuki went down a steep embankment and collided into a tree just east of the roadway.

This portion of Newville Road is actually in Tehama County rather than Glenn County, but since Orland volunteers can get there quicker than Tehama County firefighters, the Orland Volunteer Fire Department was asked by CalFire to render mutual aid.

Police scanner broadcasts indicated that Ranulfo Hernandez Mendez was administered CPR, but the life-saving efforts were unsuccessful.

If you have information regarding this crash, please contact the Red Bluff Area CHP office at (530) 737-6746.

At the same time Orland volunteers were responding to this accident, they were also called to another fatality, this one a rollover on Highway 99.

See The Observer story, “Orland man dies on 99”.

Obituary: Starlette Kay Berry, 59

Starlette Kay Berry died peacefully in Chico on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. She was born in Albany, Georgia, to Neal Joel Reid and Linda Carol Braswell on October 7, 1965, seven minutes before her twin sister, Scarlett “Renee”.

Starlette was baptized at the Southside Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. While at the church, she was a singer with a “voice like an angel,” and her favorite song was “Hallelujah Square”.

Starlette and her family moved to Virginia in 1977. She was raised with her sisters, Scarlett Renee, and Michele, by their stepfather, Michael Kohler, and Linda Braswell.

Her stepfather tried to teach her how to drive, but she hit the gas pedal instead of the brake when trying to park the car. She ended up hitting the brick part of the garage and damaged it.

She was also raised by her maternal grandparents, General and Lola (Whitaker) Braswell.

When her previous marriage ended, after the birth of her first son, Daniel Colvin, she moved back from Maryland to Virginia. She stayed with her mom, Linda, and Michele until she moved out on her own.

While living in Virginia in 1985, Starlette met her husband, Robert Berry, when she was having a beach day with her sister, Scarlett. Robert was stationed at Norfolk at the time.

According to their families, Starlette and Robert were a perfect match, and the rest is history.

Starlette and Robert raised three children together: Joshua, Joseph, and Andrew Berry. Robert and she were consistently going from California to Erie, Pennsylvania, where her oldest son, Daniel, lived.

When her children were young, Starlette enjoyed traveling around the United States via Amtrak to visit family all over. Starlette was a loving wife and mother.

She was an activist and an active member of her community. She was a member of the Salvation Army, a strong defender of children and animals, and she would help anyone in need, always with a smile.

She enjoyed working at The Little Red Hen in Chico, where she tended to plants. She joined the Harvest Baptist Church in 2018, and remained an active member for the rest of her life.

She is survived by two of her sons, Joseph and Andrew Berry; sisters Michele (Joshua) Kohler Furry and Scarlett “Renee” (Bill) Reid Hawkins; sister-in-law Peggy Berry; brothers-in-law George and Willard Berry; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her two dads, Michael Kohler and Neal Reid; mother Linda Braswell; husband Robert Berry; sons Daniel Colvin and Joshua Berry; and nieces and nephews.

Donations in Starlette’s memory can be made to the Harvest Baptist Church of Orland; the California Autism Society; and the American Diabetes Society.

Services are planned for a later date at the Harvest Baptist Church, 1202 Railroad Avenue.

Arrangements are under the direction of Sweet-Olsen Family Mortuary of Orland.