Original release March 07, 2014

At approximately 5:48 this morning a residence on the 1600 Block of Rose Lane, Placerville was reported to be on fire. El Dorado County Fire responded to the location and put out the fire. Two unidentified adult females were found deceased in the residence. The residence was mostly destroyed by the fire.

Arson investigators responded to the scene along with Coroner and Sheriff’s Office investigative personnel. An investigation is currently being conducted to determine the cause of the fire and the cause of the victims deaths.

At this time the victims have not been identified.

UPDATE: 03/08/14 A victim of the fatal fire has been identified as 62 year old Carol Hague, a resident of the house destroyed in the fire. Investigators are still working on positively identifying the other victim that firefighters found in the residence. Investigators are expecting it to be a few days before this can be accomplished.The cause of their deaths and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

UPDATE: 03/10/14 The El Dorado County Coroner’s Office has identified the second victim of the fatal residential fire that occurred on Friday March 7, 2014 as 58 year old Crystal Ann Ward.

The cause of the two victims deaths has been determined as gunshot wounds however the manner in which they received those gunshot wounds is still under investigation.

UPDATE 04/24/14: After a thorough investigation, Sheriff John D’Agostini’s investigations section has determined that the decedents in the Rose Lane fire incident were the result of a murder suicide. It has been determined that homeowner Crystal Ward shot roommate Carolyn Hague and set the house ablaze with the use of flammable liquids, before turning the weapon on herself, committing suicide.

As the Deputy Director of the El Dorado County Office of Emergency Services, Sheriff John D’Agostini is pleased to announce the schedule of the 2014 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Academy.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

The CERT Academy is offered to prospective CERT Volunteers through the El Dorado County Office of Emergency Services (OES) in cooperation with Georgetown Fire District. The CERT training promotes a partnering effort between emergency services and the people that they serve. The goal is for emergency personnel to train members of neighborhoods, community organizations, or workplaces in basic response skills. CERT members are then integrated into the emergency response capability for their area. If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community’s professional response, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during training. These skills can help save and sustain lives following a disaster until help arrives. CERT skills also apply to daily emergencies.

The Academy consists of a total of 24 hours and will be conducted over a period of four (4) days with topics, dates and hours as listed below:

Thursday           May 08, 2014        6:30pm to 8:30pm 2hrs

Friday               May 09, 2014        6:30pm to 8:30pm 2hrs

Saturday         May 10, 2014        8:30am to 4:30pm 8hrs

Thursday         May 15, 2014        6:30pm to 8:30pm 2hrs

Friday               May 16, 2014        6:30pm to 8:30pm 2hrs

Saturday         May 17, 2014        8:30am to 4:30pm 8hrs

Although the training is being held in Georgetown it is open to all county residents. This training is good for all county CERT organizations. There currently are two other community emergency response teams in El Dorado County. Besides the Georgetown CERT there is one in Rescue and one in Pollock Pines. For more information about this Community Emergency Response Team training or to sign up for the academy, contact Georgetown CERT volunteers Laura Webster (530) 333-0214 or Bob Maherly (530) 823-6680

For more information on how to establish an El Dorado County Community Emergency Response Team in your community, contact Sheriff’s Deputy Jordan Thomson. Deputy Thomson is assigned to the Office of Emergency Services and can be reached at (530) 621-7660 or via email at [email protected]

2013 Awards Ceremony

This past Friday, February 21st, Sheriff John D’Agostini hosted the 2013 Sheriff’s Office awards ceremony at the American Legion Hall. This year’s dinner was hosted by members of Calvary Chapel of the Foothills. During the ceremony, El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office employees and community members were recognized for exemplary actions and service. Prior to them receiving their awards, a review of their actions that warranted recognition was read to attendees. These actions included traumatic life threatening situations, major investigations and exemplary work performance.

The ceremony was attended by award recipients, their family and friends. We also had distinguished members of our community including El Dorado County Board of Supervisor member Ron Mikulaco and Brian Veerkamp, along with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Senior Special Agent John Prelip.

OFFICER OF THE YEAR

Dan Fulton

CORRECTIONAL OFFICER OF THE YEAR

Ben Handy

EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR

Peggy Wenner

TEAM OF THE YEAR

Narcotic Detectives:

Sgt. Mike Cook

Ben Davidson Eric Palmberg Dan Rath Lance Bryant

Robert St. Pierre Jason Bloxsom SA Joe Beeson

DISPATCHER OF THE YEAR

Deborah Green

SWORN MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Lt. Jackie Noren

SWORN SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR

Sgt. Gary Parker

CIVILIAN SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR

Danette Helwig

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

Dan Schmidt (Search & Rescue – SAR)

CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

Beth Frisby

BRONZE LIFESAVING MEDAL

William Turnbull & Terrie Cissna

CERTIFICATE OF LIFESAVING

Jennifer Merino & Ben Handy

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

Sgt. Jeff Leikauf

COMMENDATIONS:

Greg Almos Tony Broadfoot Michael Roberts Jackie Todd Mark Hangebrauck Sgt. Matt Cathey Christina DeWater Gabriel Hathorne Kathy Jacobs Cassidy Thomason Cortney Barbot Rich Dean Frank Yost Christopher Garcia Christina Novello Samantha Whitlock David Joiner

Scott Gabler (SAR) Sienna Smith (SAR)

Sheriff D’Agostini also presented service pins to employees who completed ten, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five years of service to the Sheriff’s Office. Eight Sheriff’s Office personnel who retired in 2013 were also recognized for their service. Sheriff D’Agostini is appreciative of the dedicated employees and citizens who make our community safer and more enjoyable for all.