CLEAR LAKE RIVIERA — Lake County Sheriff”s Department is seeking information related to the brutal beating of a 23-year-old man that occurred during the early morning hours of Sunday, June 22. The incident took place on the docks at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.
According to a press release issued by the sheriff department”s investigation unit, “investigators have identified several ?persons of interest” who we believe had been at Richmond Park resort just prior to the attack at Konocti.”
The press release further states, “We have secured images from Richmond Park”s surveillance system of the individuals we believe may have been involved in the attack but are unable to identify them at this time.”
The images secured through the surveillance system were reportedly taken on June 22 just after midnight.
The victim was transported from the scene to Adventist Health Redbud Community Hospital where he was flown out by air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. The victim, who requested his identity be withheld, said he spent a week and a day in the hospital undergoing reconstructive surgery. His injuries included a broken nose, broken cheek bone and the orbital bone under his right eye was also broken.
According to the victim, he and a couple of friends were on their way to dock area when the incident occurred. He said that he believes one of his friends, who had been intoxicated at the time, may have bumped into one of the individuals being sought in the case. “Then they began exchanging words so I tried to talk to him and get my friend out of there and the next thing I knew I was in the lake,” the victim said.
The victim said that he had tried to pull himself out of the water, but was “blind-sided” in the attempt. He further reported that one of his friends had been held under water by the suspects as well.
Another friend, he said, was also pushed into the water. “He swam under the dock to get away and had to breathe the air under there until they left,” the victim explained.
The victim said he had never seen the individuals before. “When we walked out on the dock that was the first time I had ever seen any of them,” he said. “They left on a boat in the middle of the night though, so that makes me think that they may be familiar with the lake.”
The sheriff”s department is seeking the public”s help in identifying the individuals depicted in the surveillance footage. The pictures can be viewed on the Lake County Sheriff Department”s Web site, www.lakesheriff.com. Anyone who can identify any of the men in the photos is encouraged to call Detective Corey Paulich at 262-4231 or contact him by e-mail at cdp@co.lake.ca.us.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
