CLEARLAKE — A former firefighter has been arrested on murder and assault charges after he allegedly went on a shooting rampage early Sunday morning, killing a woman and injuring three others.
Clearlake resident Wilbur H. Cope, 36, is in the Lake County Jail on one felony count of murder and one felony count of forcible assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury likely.
The Clearlake Police Department incident log for Sunday included a report of shots fired at 3:23 a.m. in the 3900 block of Manchester Avenue. Police reportedly arrived on scene at 3:27 a.m.
A statement issued by the Clearlake Police on Monday indicated that Clearlake residents Terry Cain, Michele Cain and Sharon England were the victims of apparent gunshot wounds.
Terry Cain was transported to UC Davis Medical Center, where he remained hospitalized, while Michele Cain was treated and released at the scene.
England was transported, treated and released from a local hospital.
Clearlake Police reported that a fourth victim of an apparent gunshot had been confirmed deceased but the identity of the deceased was being withheld pending proper notification.
The Lake County Sheriff”s Office reported that Cope was booked at 4:26 p.m. Sunday into the Lake County Jail. Felony charges against Cope were accompanied by bond amounts that totaled $515,000. Complete booking information can be found on the LCSO Web site, www.lakesheriff.com.
Cope, a former south county firefighter injured while fighting a fire several years ago, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Lake County Superior Court.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jon Hopkins said on Monday that he would not know until today”s arraignment what final charges will be filed against Cope.
Hopkins said he was at the site of the shooting from early morning until mid-afternoon on Sunday while an investigation was being conducted under a search warrant that was in effect.
“So I”m familiar enough with the facts that we don”t need a complete report for us to make a filing decision,” Hopkins said, “but I”ll probably wait until we know for certain what we”re doing rather than guess or speculate on what we might do.”
Detective Sgt. Craig Clausen of Clearlake Police is in charge of the investigation.
“We”re still trying to get things together,” Clausen said Monday. “The scene has been entirely processed at this time.”
Clausen said that Richard Towle is the investigating officer.
Investigators are working on booking and processing the evidence, and writing reports, Clausen said.
Some of the evidence, according to Clausen, is being sent to the Department of Justice in Santa Rosa, as well as other DOJ locations throughout the state.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Clausen, 994-8251.
Clear Lake Observer-American Managing Editor Cynthia Parkhill, and Record-Bee staffers John Lindblom and Cynthia Davis contributed to this report.
