With the Fourth of July fast approaching, Sheriff D’Agostini wants to remind everyone that fireworks of any kind are illegal in El Dorado County. Any person caught possessing, transporting, purchasing, selling, or even storing fireworks could be cited or arrested and booked into the El Dorado County Jail for violating the misdemeanor county ordinance. Illegal fireworks in El Dorado County even include sparklers or those sold in Sacramento County as “Safe and Sane”. All fireworks will be confiscated as evidence, rendered safe, and properly disposed of.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, thousands of people, most often children and teens, are injured while using consumer fireworks every Fourth of July. Despite the danger, few people understand or respect the associated risks such as devastating burns, severe injuries to eyes, ears and extremities, structure fires, wildland fires and even death. Yet many who use illegal fireworks do so without fear of repercussions or consequences.

Please have a fun and safe holiday weekend in El Dorado County, without the fear of fire or injury! Pyrotechnics can be enjoyed by the whole family at several venues over the weekend to include the El Dorado County Fair Grounds, South Lake Tahoe, and Town Center in El Dorado Hills on July 3rd. The fireworks over Cameron Park Lake were last weekend.

So please make your celebration a safe one without endangering yourselves or your neighbors. With dry conditions due to heat and the drought, safety should be paramount for everyone. There is a lot to celebrate over Independence Day, so have fun and stay safe! If you see others using fireworks, please report it to law enforcement immediately. You may be saving someone’s life, home, neighborhood, or our forest lands.

Lt. Tom Murdoch

On Sunday, July 12^th, 2015, from noon to 5:00 P.M. Sheriff John D’Agostini and members of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office will be giving the citizens of El Dorado County a great opportunity to rid their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications. On the date of the take back, El Dorado County Residents can bring their unwanted medications in pill or liquid form to the following listed locations for collection and disposal. (If you are disposing of hypodermic needles or other sharp devices, for safety purposes, please keep them separated from medications that are turned in.

• El Dorado Hills Residents, The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Sub-Station, located at 4354 Town Center BLVD Suite 112 in El Dorado Hills.
• For Cool area Residents, Holiday Market 5030 Ellinghouse Drive in Cool.
• For Georgetown area residents, Fire Station 61 located at 6281 Main Street, Georgetown, (0800-1200 hours)
• For Camino, Cedar Grove, Pollock Pines, and Fresh Pond Residents, Safeway Supermarket 6498 Pony Express Trail in Pollock Pines.
• For Placerville, El Dorado, Diamond Springs residents, The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department in Placerville, located at 300 Fair Lane in Placerville.
• For Somerset, Grizzly Flat, and Mount Aukum residents, The U.S. Post Office located at 6040 Grizzly Flat Road in Somerset.
• For Cameron Park, Rescue, and Shingle Springs residents, Safeway Supermarket located at 3380 Coach Lane in Cameron Park.
• For South Lake Tahoe residents, Lira’s Market located at 2977 Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe.

The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Over 8 previous years the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners have collected more than 1,400 tons of prescription medications during Take Back events.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses. Studies have shown that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

Americans are also being advised that their usual methods for disposing unused or unwanted medications by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash- both pose potential health and safety hazards and are dangerous to our water systems and environment.

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is no longer being funded; however Sheriff John D’Agostini felt that this program was important for the safety of the citizens of El Dorado County and the overall welfare of our communities. The Sheriff is committed to funding this program locally. Sheriff John D’Agostini is asking the citizens of El Dorado County to spread the word and to take part in this worthwhile event in helping keep the citizens and El Dorado County safe.

On 06/17/15 at about 10:42 AM, Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a residence in the 5000 block of Forty Niner Trail in Placerville for a person allegedly using narcotics. At the residence, deputies contacted 20 year-old Joseph Richard. Spoons commonly used to reduce heroin into a liquid form by heating them, small cotton pieces commonly used to filter drugs before injection, and hypodermic needles and syringes were found. A small amount of a black sticky tar like substance was located that appeared to be heroin. A glass pipe commonly used to smoke methamphetamine was also recovered. Richard was taken into custody and transported to the Jail for possession of an illegal substance and drug paraphernalia. He is still in custody on $17,000 bail.

Lt. Tom Murdoch

Booking photo of Joseph Richard