Siskiyou County District Attorney

11/15/2023

08/31/2023

Mount Shasta Man Found Guilty of Sexually Assaulting 12 Women

Jessica Skropanic
Redding Record Searchlight

A 75-year-old Mount Shasta man was found guilty of sexually assaulting 12 women customers while massaging them at his bed and breakfast and spa.

David Roy Knowles was found guilty on 14 counts of sexual assault on Aug. 17 in Siskiyou County Superior Court, according to an announcement issued on Aug. 30 by the Siskiyou County District Attorney's Office.

Charges were brought on behalf of 12 women who reported the assaults happened between 2011 and 2021. At the times of the reported assaults, their ages were between 26 and 69 years old, District Attorney Kirk Andrus said in the announcement.

Each woman reported "private parts of their bodies had been sexually touched and/or penetrated during massages by Knowles at his MountInn Retreat & Spa," Andrus said.

At least some of the women were led to believe the pe*******on "served a professional purpose when it served no professional purpose," then Mount Shasta Police Dept. Acting Chief Robert Gibson told the Mount Shasta Herald on June 24, 2021.

Knowles pleaded “no contest” to the charges. "As a consequence of his plea," Andrus said, Judge John Lawrence found Knowles guilty.

One woman's report leads to others coming forward

On May 16, 2021, a woman reported to Mount Shasta police she was sexually assaulted by Knowles during a massage at his business, the MountInn Retreat & Spa on Birch Street, according to Gibson.

When police made inquiries, they found five more customers who reported they were sexually assaulted by Knowles, Gibson said.

The DA’s office announced it charged Knowles with eight felony violations on June 22, 2021, Andrus told the Mount Shasta Herald in 2021.

Mount Shasta police officers got a warrant to search Knowles' business and seized his property, including a computer, business records and a cell phone. Using information found in the seized items, Andrus, Deputy District Attorney Theo Balboni and members of the DA’s Bureau of Investigation emailed hundreds of Knowles' former customers, asking them to report if they were assaulted by Knowles. Six more women came forward, Andrus said.

Three other people claimed they were sexually assaulted by Knowles, but the statute of limitation had run out on those cases, the DA said.

Knowles doesn't possess state certification for massage therapy from the California Massage Therapy Council, according to the DA's office. California doesn't require certification to "provide massage for compensation," according to the CMTC.

Pending his day in court, Knowles was released on bail and continued operating his business during the winter and spring of 2023, according to the DA's office.

Knowles is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 5. "He will be sentenced to six years in state prison," Andrus said.

Most of the women who came forward to accuse Knowles were "reluctant to re-live the trauma of Knowles’ abuses and requested that our office resolve his case without public testimony,” according to a statement issued by Andrus in the announcement.

06/26/2023

04/03/2023

https://www.mtshastanews.com/story/news/2023/03/23/weed-man-sentenced-for-hitting-wife-twice-with-car/70039691007/

A W**d man was sentenced in a case involving his wife's leg being crushed.

09/19/2022

Maughs Sentenced for Crime Spree

Yreka-On August 23, 2022, Justin Edward Maughs, 27, of Yreka, CA, was sentenced to 15 years and 4 months in state prison for a series of crimes committed over a 16-month period.

On January 5, 2021, Maughs, who had previously been convicted of felony burglary charges in 2015 and 2016, was found to have been driving a stolen pickup truck without a license, while under the influence of drugs and in possession of fi****ms and ammunition. Maughs ran the truck off the road and ma*****na was found littered around the interior. He had discarded a firearm at the time of the crash and was in possession of 3 different types of ammunition, 2 handgun holsters and a high-capacity magazine.

Later that day Etna Police Department, Probation Officers and narcotics investigators searched the property where Maughs was living near Greenview. Officers recovered over 300 pounds of ma*****na product, five fi****ms, a stun gun, several firearm magazines, firearm parts and ammunition.

On July 21, 2021, the defendant failed to appear in Court after being ordered to do so. On September 1, 2021, the defendant failed to appear in Court after being released on bail.

On September 2, 2021, Maughs was contacted by Siskiyou Sheriff’s deputies who attempted to arrest him on a warrant. Maughs fled on foot but was quickly arrested.

On October 27, 2021, Maughs was convicted in Siskiyou County Superior Court of 7 felony charges including being a felon in possession of an assault weapon, a firearm and ammunition, vehicle theft, and of destroying evidence. He was placed on probation.

On January 26, 2022, the defendant failed to appear in Court as ordered after being released on his own recognizance.

On February 26, 2022, the defendant stole a work truck from a hotel in Yreka. The truck had thousands of dollars’ worth of tools in the back. The vehicle was recovered south of Sacramento over two weeks later.

On March 1, 2022, the defendant stole a utility trailer containing two ATV’s and a dirt bike from in front of a residence in Yreka.

On March 4, 2022, a Yreka Police Department officer observed a truck on Main Street in Yreka that had been stolen from a property in Big Springs. Maughs was the driver. When the officer attempted a traffic stop on the truck Maughs accelerated, fled north of town, and drove up Hawkinsville Humbug Road. The truck left the road, drove over a ridgeline, and down into brushy hills. The officer located the truck in a ravine several miles up the mountain.

On April 8, 2022, a Siskiyou Sheriff’s deputy noticed Maughs as a passenger in a truck in Yreka. After conducting a traffic stop the defendant refused to exit the truck upon command and eventually jumped from the passenger seat to the driver seat—on top of the driver—and accelerated down the street with the deputy attached to the side of the truck. The deputy was struck by the side mirror of a parked vehicle and fell from the side of the truck. The truck then ran over the deputy’s leg. Maughs drove away, jumped out of the truck and fled.

On July 26, 2022, the defendant pled guilty to 13 felony charges including assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, 7 charges of vehicle theft, failure to appear, recklessly evading a peace officer, and 3 charges of false imprisonment by violence. He was also convicted of 8 misdemeanors including driving under the influence, possession of ma*****na for sale, possession of a stun gun, possession of a large capacity magazine, and resisting arrest. On August 23, 2022, Maughs was sentenced to 184 months in state prison.

This case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney John Quinn.

09/08/2022

NOTICE: PRICE GOUGING IS A CRIME

By District Attorney Kirk Andrus

Dear Citizens and Businesses in Siskiyou County:

The Governor has proclaimed a state of emergency for Siskiyou County due to the Mill Fire. Please be advised that it is a crime in California to charge excess prices for services and necessary items during this emergency. This would apply, for example, to motels, rents, building materials, transportation, food items and other household items. It is a violation of California Penal Code section 396 for persons, businesses, contractors and other entities to sell these services and items of necessity for a price of more than 10% than the price charged immediately prior to the state of emergency. Punishment for such criminal violation is up to a year in the County Jail and a $10,000.00 fine, or both. Violators may also be prosecuted civilly under the Business and Professions Code, which may result in fines of up to $5,000.00 per item offered for sale or sold. The only exception to a price increase over 10% is if the seller can demonstrate that the increased price is directly attributable to increases in the cost of labor or materials needed to provide the good or service.

Please report suspected price gouging to my District Attorney Consumer Protection Hotline at 842-8215 (operated by DA Bureau of Investigation), or by email at [email protected].

Kirk Andrus
District Attorney

09/06/2022

Parole Denied for Brubaker at "Lifer Parole Suitability Hearing"

Ricky Lynn Brubaker was convicted on July 21, 2008 for molesting an infant child left in his care. He also admitted guilt for molesting another child who was under the age of 10. The molestation took place on January 10, 2008. This was the first application of a law that was new at the time. Nicknamed “Jessica’s Law” it mandated life in prison for certain sexual offenses. He was 18 year of age.

Brubaker was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. On August 30, 2022 the Board of Prison Terms held Brubaker’s initial parole suitability hearing. During the hearing they administered an oath to tell the truth to the inmate and then discussed his offense, his previous sexual misconduct, his programming and rehabilitation, his prison disciplinary history, and his efforts to address violence and drug use. District Attorney Kirk Andrus was able to ask him questions, followed by his own lawyer. Mr. Andrus then gave a closing statement in which he told the Commissioners that Mr. Brubaker was more dangerous now than when he went to prison because of his inability or disinclination to face the problems that led to his offense. He urged the longest possible denial of parole. The Inmate’s attorney asked that he be found suitable and released.

The Commissioners found Brubaker unsuitable for parole and found that he poses an unreasonable risk to public safety if released. He was given a 7 year denial, meaning that he can have another hearing in 7 years. Mr. Andrus noted that this was a good decision by the parole board. “We will always fight for public safety, and this inmate was not even close to suitable for release. I believe that it would take herculean efforts, if it were even possible, for him to change enough to be safe for release at his current young age of 33. His release at this time was untenable and fortunately the Parole Board agreed.

09/02/2022

22 YEARS IN PRISON FOR JOHNSON

On Tuesday, August 30, 2022, Shanadoa Wayne Johnson, 44, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for numerous convictions. He had been convicted on July 13, 2022, of numerous charges for scamming many Siskiyou County citizens including several who were very elderly.

The defendant’s contact with the criminal justice system began with a conviction in federal court in Montana in 2008 for fraudulent misuse of a social security number to obtain benefits. Since that time, he has been convicted of 8 felonies and 10 misdemeanors, comprising crimes in 3 different states and 5 California counties, often for theft or financial elder abuse.

The defendant was active in Siskiyou County between March and early August of 2020. He came to the attention of the Siskiyou County District Attorney’s Office after a complaint was made to the California State Licensing Board (CSLB). Almost immediately, numerous complaints came in from all over Siskiyou County. Some law enforcement officers who responded told complainants that it was a civil matter. Others took reports and forwarded them to the DA’s Office. The case was immediately assigned to Chief Deputy District Attorney John Quinn, who began to observe the patterns in Johnson’s behavior.

The defendant approached people, mostly elderly citizens, at their homes and offer to do roofing work or driveway work. Sometimes he claimed to have worked at the property before, or that he was doing warranty work. He would do little or no work of any value, sometimes damaging the property in order to solicit more work to do, often leave the person’s property compromised by his effort, and extract large payments for the work he claimed to have done or claimed he would do. Johnson was not a licensed contractor, but told some of his victims that he was, and told some that he was boss of a paving business. To others he falsely claimed affiliation with reputable companies and individuals, even going so far as creating false business cards and car door magnets with fraudulent affiliations, and on one occasion providing a false contractor license number. He often left the victims’ properties in such a state that they had to hire qualified contractors to repair the damage—often at great expense. Johnson’s victims in Siskiyou County during this period ranged in age from 49 to 98. Many were in their 80’s and 90’s. Though many victims paid him according to the exorbitant demands, others balked. At such times he would often become demanding and cajoling, which could progress to angry and threatening behavior. He used different scams with different people, including requesting replacement checks for checks he had already cashed, or for checks that he then stole from the victim’s home—resulting in a double fraudulent loss for the victim. During these four months in 2020 the defendant extracted more than $100,000 from the known victims in Siskiyou County.

Using court orders to obtain records, investigators traced checks deposited into the defendant’s accounts to find almost a dozen additional victims. Investigators were able to find a total of at least $510,408 of income obtained by the defendant from 2019 to 2021. The defendant had not filed a tax return in California, Oregon, Idaho or Washington since at least 2015. He also had not filed a federal tax return during that period except for a late filed federal return in 2019 where the defendant claimed $1 of income, but which allowed him to claim a federal Covid stimulus payment.

Siskiyou County’s last known victim reported to law enforcement on August 4, 2020. Mr. Quinn charged Johnson with felony charges on August 14, 2020. A felony arrest warrant was issued by Judge William J. Davis in the amount of $200,000. The defendant was believed to be in the Klamath Falls area after fleeing Siskiyou County. Unfortunately, the defendant’s presence in Klamath Falls was publicized, which caused him to flee that area and he was at large for some several months. In November he was arrested on arrest warrants from Siskiyou County, Deschutes County (OR) and Churchill County (NV), in a motel in Cowlitz County, Washington. Again, misfortune struck. Though Johnson was the Siskiyou DA’s top priority for arrest at the time, another Siskiyou County Judge authorized, without contacting the DA’s Office, Johnson’s release on his own recognizance with an appearance date in Yreka of December 15th. Predictably, Johnson failed to appear on December 15th and another warrant was issued for his arrest.

Shanadoa Johnson then remained at large until November 20, 2021, when he was arrested in Butte County, CA despite giving a false name to attempt to avoid arrest. During the preceding year he had continued to defraud elderly people at an alarming rate. In the Siskiyou County trial, Mr. Quinn put on evidence to show that he defrauded seniors in Humboldt County, Lake County, Nevada County, Churchill County (NV), and Klamath County (OR) during this period when he should have been in the Siskiyou County Jail. These 5 victims alone were defrauded for almost $85,000 including one 96 year old woman who couldn’t see very well and asked the defendant to fill out one of her checks to him in the amount of $88. He wrote the check for $8,800 and cashed the check at a bank.

In December 2021, while he was in the Siskiyou County Jail, Johnson applied for welfare benefits with the assistance of his girlfriend. He claimed that he had no money or income and was currently paying rent (though the jail does not charge rent). The welfare benefits were issued, and the money was placed in Johnson’s Siskiyou County Jail bank account for his use while in custody.

The jury convicted Johnson of 38 felonies and 16 misdemeanors.

After he was convicted, Johnson did not stop his bad behavior. Between the verdict and the sentencing, he did all of the following:
• Wrote a letter to his girlfriend telling her to lie and say that a DA Investigator told her not to come to court and testify for him, so that he could file for a mistrial,
• Asked his sister to contact his girlfriend with the same request,
• Falsely told a bail bond company that he owned 3 properties he could use as bail collateral,
• Gave the bail bond company 2 bank account numbers—one of which belonged to one of the testifying witnesses at trial, which he would have surreptitiously written down during the trial,
• Gave the account numbers to another inmate and arranged for them to steal money from the victim’s account for bail,

At sentencing Johnson faced a maximum sentence of 29 years and 8 months in state prison. At the sentencing hearing Judge Lawrence choose to strike 4 elder enhancements and an enhancement for committing crimes while out of custody on release and run other convictions concurrent. This reduced Johnson’s sentence by 7 years.

Despite knowing all of this information, Judge Lawrence sentenced the defendant to 22 years in state prison. As he left the courtroom it was reported that Johnson turned and put a “gypsy curse” on everyone in the courtroom. According to District Attorney Kirk Andrus, “Shanadoa Johnson cannot help himself. He considers every day how to lie, cheat and steal. If anybody deserves a maximum state prison sentence for this type of crime, it is him.”

Mr. Andrus also cautioned that there are certainly more victims, both in Siskiyou County and likely in all surrounding counties. He encouraged people: “Please do not be embarrassed to report such behavior, either from Shanadoa Johnson or from any other person. This is not your fault. This is a scam, not unlike every other kind of scam developed to prey upon the trusting human nature of good people. The victims in this case were experienced and intelligent and yet found themselves victimized by somebody who convincingly passed himself off as an expert. Whether you were victimized by this defendant, or any other person do not hesitate to report the behavior to any law enforcement officer, to the DA’s Bureau of Investigation, or to the California State Licensing Board.”

08/25/2022

29 Year Prison Sentence for Child Sexual Abuse

YREKA, CA – On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, Edwin Ernesto Alfaro-Lopez, 36, of Yreka was sentenced to a total of 29 years in state prison for four charges documenting sexual abuse of 3 individual victims who were under the age of 14 at the time of the crimes. The charges included Penal Code section 288.5-Continuous sexual abuse of a child, two counts of section 288(a)-Lewd Act on a child under 14, and one count of an attempt to commit a violation of section 288(a). On July 26, 2022, the defendant had pleaded guilty to these four charges knowing that he would receive the 29-year sentence.

At the sentencing hearing before the Honorable John Lawrence, one of the victims addressed the court. The other two victims declined to attend. The victim, designated as Jane Doe 1, described how the defendant’s behavior had made it difficult for her to trust men, and “ruined my innocence.” When she found that the DA’s office was reviewing the case, she was “super happy.”

The case was reviewed by District Attorney Kirk Andrus late in 2021. He noted that there had been strong efforts at investigation by the Sheriff’s Department in Siskiyou, Del Norte, and Sacramento Counties. Mr. Andrus decided to present the case to the Criminal Grand Jury, which took place in November. For that proceeding Mr. Andrus sent subpoenas to the two known victims as well as other potential victims who had not been interviewed by law enforcement officers. One such potential victim arrived at the Grand Jury and declined to disclose sexual abuse. The Grand Jury heard testimony and indicted Alfaro-Lopez for sexual abuse of the other two victims.

Shortly after the beginning of 2022, Alfaro-Lopez again sexually abused the victim who had not disclosed. The victim, with parental support, feeling more confident that the abuse could end, and seeing the defendant arrested and in jail, spoke to law enforcement and then returned to the same Grand Jury and testified to ongoing sexual abuse by the defendant. The Grand Jury indictment was amended to include the new charges.

After negotiating the 29-year prison sentence, of which the defendant will have to serve at least 85% under California law, Mr. Andrus expressed appreciation for the brave victims and the tremendous service they had done for themselves and for others. Jane Doe 1 referred to this in her comments at the sentencing hearing when she said she was now, “thriving with joy,” and gave two reasons: “you got in trouble and you are going to jail” and “all of the people you did it to they are finally getting justice.” She also expressed satisfaction that, “you are in jail now so now I don’t have to worry that you are going to do the same thing you did to me to other innocent people.”

District Attorney Kirk Andrus noted the reality that many victims of sexual abuse suffer in silence. He stated the hope that victims will find support they need, and the commitment in his office to prosecute every case of child sexual abuse that can be proven—in order to vindicate victims, punish offenders and protect children. “Until now these three brave victims were among those who had received no justice for their suffering, and other children were in danger of the same treatment. This is another step toward a county that is safer for children, and there is much more work to do.”

07/15/2022

JURY CONVICTS SHANADOA JOHNSON OF 38 FELONIES AND 16 MISDEMEANORS FOR CHARGES INCLUDNG CONTRACTOR FRAUD AND FINANCIAL ELDER ABUSE

On Wednesday, July 13, 2022, a Siskiyou County Superior Court jury convicted Shanadoa Wayne Johnson, 44, of numerous charges for scamming numerous Siskiyou County citizens including many elderly persons. The verdicts represented the culmination of a remarkable effort by the district attorney’s office, led by Chief Deputy District Attorney (CDDA) John Quinn and investigated by Supervising Investigator Doug Dahmen and Investigator James Clair. Their efforts uncovered many crimes in Siskiyou County and jurisdictions within CA and other states.

The defendant’s contact with the criminal justice system began with a 2008 conviction in federal court in Montana for fraudulent misuse of a social security number to obtain benefits. Since then, he has been convicted of eight felonies and 10 misdemeanors, comprising crimes in three different states and five California counties, with most crimes involving theft and/or financial elder abuse.

The defendant was active in Siskiyou County between March and early August of 2020. He came to the attention of the Siskiyou County District Attorney’s Office after a complaint was made to the California State Licensing Board (CSLB). This was soon followed by numerous additional complaints reported from all over Siskiyou County.

The defendant’s pattern of behavior was recognized by CDDA Quinn and was as follows. He would approach people, mostly elderly citizens, at their homes and offer to do roofing work or driveway work. Sometimes he claimed to have worked at the property before, or that he was doing warranty work. He would do little or no work of any value, sometimes damaging the property in order to solicit more work to do, often leave the person’s property compromised by his effort, and extract large payments for the work he claimed to have done or claimed he would do. The defendant was not a licensed contractor, but told some of his victims that he was, and told some that he was the boss of a paving business. To others he falsely claimed affiliation with reputable companies and individuals, even going so far as creating false business cards and car door magnets with fraudulent affiliations, and on one occasion providing a false contractor license number. He often left the victims’ properties in such a state that they had to hire qualified contractors to repair the damage—often at great expense. Johnson’s victims in Siskiyou County during this period ranged in age from 49 to 98. Many were in their 80’s and 90’s. Though many victims paid him according to the exorbitant demands, others balked. At such times he would often become demanding and cajoling, which could progress to angry and threatening behavior. He used different scams with different people, including requesting replacement checks for checks he had already cashed, or for checks that he then stole from the victim’s home—resulting in a double fraudulent loss for the victim. During these four months in 2020 the defendant extracted more than $100,000 from the known victims in Siskiyou County.

CDDA Quinn directed an investigation into the defendant’s financial institution’s accounts. Using court orders to obtain records, investigators traced checks deposited into the defendant’s accounts to find almost a dozen additional victims. Investigators were able to find a total of at least $510,408 of income obtained by the defendant from 2019 to 2021. CDDA Quinn reached out to the CA Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and elicited the help of Senior Special Agent Jason Hamdan to determine whether Johnson had paid income tax. That investigation revealed that the defendant had not filed a tax return in California, Oregon, Idaho or Washington since at least 2015. He also had not filed a federal tax return during that period except for a late filed federal return in 2019 where the defendant claimed $1 of income, but which allowed him to claim a federal COVID stimulus payment.

CDDA Quinn charged Johnson with felony charges on August 14, 2020. A felony arrest warrant was issued by Judge William J. Davis in the amount of $200,000. The defendant was believed to be in the Klamath Falls area after fleeing Siskiyou County. Unfortunately, the defendant learned of the warrant, which caused him to flee that area and remain at large for several months. In November, he was arrested on warrants from Siskiyou County, Deschutes County (OR) and Churchill County (NV), in a motel in Cowlitz County, Washington. Unfortunately, without contacting the DA’s Office, a Siskiyou County Judge authorized Johnson’s release on his own recognizance with an appearance date in Yreka of December 15th. Predictably, Johnson failed to appear on December 15, 2020 and another warrant was issued for his arrest.

Shanadoa Johnson then remained at large until November 20, 2021, when he was arrested in Butte County, CA despite giving a false name to attempt to avoid arrest. During the preceding year he had continued to defraud numerous more elderly people. CDDA Quinn put on evidence in the jury trial which showed that Johnson defrauded seniors in Humboldt County, Lake County, Nevada County, Churchill County (NV), and Klamath County (OR) during this period when he should have been in the Siskiyou County Jail. These five victims were defrauded for just under $85,000 including one 96-year-old woman whose vision is poor and asked the defendant to fill out one of her checks to him in the amount of $88. He wrote the check for $8,800 and cashed the check at a bank.

In December 2021, while he was in the Siskiyou County Jail, the defendant applied for welfare benefits with the assistance of his girlfriend. He claimed that he had no money or income and was currently paying rent (the jail does not charge rent). The welfare benefits were issued, and the money was placed in the defendant’s Siskiyou County Jail bank account for his use while in custody.

In June and July 2022, CDDA Quinn presented the case to a Siskiyou County Jury with Judge John Lawrence presiding. On Wednesday, July 13th, the jury convicted the defendant of 38 felonies and 16 misdemeanors. The felonies included first degree burglary (for entering the victims’ homes while they were present in order to steal), grand theft from an elder, misappropriation of construction funds, extortion, failure to file a tax return, perjury, welfare fraud, conspiracy, failure to appear in court, and using a false contractor’s number with intent to defraud. The misdemeanors included contracting without a license, advertising without a valid contractor’s license, charging and excessive down payment, misappropriation of construction funds, giving false information to a peace officer, and driving on a suspended license. Shanadoa Johnson faces a maximum sentence of about 26 years and 8 months in state prison. Judge Lawrence will sentence the defendant on August 9, 2022.

This remarkable verdict was a team effort. The case was principally investigated by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation with much cooperation and assistance from Senior Special Agent Hamdan from FTB. Lori Miles from CSLB did an extensive investigation and CSLB also assisted by providing expert witnesses who testified to the low quality, or utter lack thereof, of the work Johnson had done at the properties in question. Cynthia Billingsley from District Attorney’s Victim Services was masterful in assisting victims and witnesses through the litigation process. Siskiyou County Human Services assisted with the welfare fraud investigation, resulting in three felony convictions. Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus lauded Chief Deputy John Quinn’s efforts. “This case was directed by Mr. Quinn, and it is doubtful that anybody anywhere could have done better. He was able to uncover a breadth of bad behavior by a serial fraudster to a degree that no other jurisdiction has approached. He developed information for other jurisdictions that provide a master class on how to prosecute perpetrators of fraud. The benefits of Mr. Quinn’s efforts on this one case will reverberate for years.”

Mr. Andrus also commended the jury for their hard work. “A paper-intensive case such as this can be tedious and difficult. We appreciate the good jurors who worked hard to process this information and render a just result. The facts of Johnson’s predatory deceptions, presented by the elderly witnesses, would make the blood boil. It is hard to imagine the depravity of a person who looks to steal from an elderly person every single day.”

The challenges of such a case include the level of investigative expertise necessary for successfully investigations. Such dogged investigations demand that officers do not stop at the first or second victim but work hard to find victims who may never report on their own. Such cases are also resource intensive, requiring massive document sifting and organizing, expert witnesses and litigation efforts.

Mr. Andrus also cautioned that there are certainly more victims, both in Siskiyou County and likely in all surrounding counties. He encouraged people: “Please do not be embarrassed to report such behavior, either from Shanadoa Johnson or from any other person. This is not your fault. This is a scam, not unlike every other kind of scam developed to prey upon the trusting human nature of good people. The victims in this case were experienced and intelligent and yet found themselves victimized by somebody who convincingly passed himself off as an expert. Whether you were victimized by this defendant, or any other person do not hesitate to report the behavior to any law enforcement officer, to the DA’s Bureau of Investigation, or to the California State Licensing Board.”