LAKE COUNTY >> A Lake County Grand Jury found enough evidence to indict Gregory Pierre Elarms, 29, who is suspected of participating in an armed robbery in June of 2013, Lake County District Attorney (DA) Don Anderson said Friday.
Regarding an unrelated case, Anderson said the grand jury did not find enough evidence to indict Paula Piveronas, who reportedly shot her husband Robert Piveronas, a Lake County Sheriff”s Office boat patrolmen, in early December. She claimed she shot him in self-defense.
Anderson said the indictment against Elarms — who has been in custody since early July on charges related to the robbery — has been filed and that Elarms is scheduled to appear in court Friday for arraignment. During the arraignment hearing, the prosecution is set to drop the existing charges against Elarms to replace them with the indictment. The indictment against Elarms includes charges of assault with a deadly weapon on Clearlake Police Department Lt. Tim Celli, two charges of attack with a deadly weapon — with a firearm and with a weapon other than a firearm — on a resident of the home he allegedly helped robbed, Anderson said. The charges also include robbery, burglary, car theft and felony vandalism.
Elarm”s charges stems from an incident in late June of 2013 when he and four more suspects — Dion Andre Davis, Tyler Christopher Gallon, Sean Douglas Foss and Jenaya Drevelyn Jelinek — allegedly broke into a home in Clearlake Oaks. During the brake in, a resident of the home was reportedly shot.
The group then reportedly fled in two different vehicles. Elarms reportedly left the scene alone in a Cadillac Escalade stolen from the home and avoided arrest until July 2, more than a year later.
The strategy to use the grand jury in Elarms” case was consistent with the cases of the other four suspects.
Anderson said following Elarms” capture that his office had been aware of Elarms since about a month after the incident, but that there was no definitive evidence linking him to the crime.
He was arrested in San Francisco after a collaborated effort by the DA”s Office.
On the separate case, the proceedings for Piveronas reached a different outcome. Following the grand jury”s findings, Anderson said the DA”s Office will not be prosecuting Piveronas “at this time.”
“In our opinion there is not enough evidence to prove that it was not self-defense,” Anderson said.
He added that further information regarding the investigation and his decision not to prosecute Piveronas would be made public in the following days.
Piveronas reportedly shot her husband and caused his death in the early hours of Dec. 6 at their home just south of Lakeport.
She was arrested in connection with the shooting, but was released soon after when she posted bail. Her bail was released in late January after the DA”s Office did not present the court with enough evidence to keep her out on bail. However, an investigation into Rober Piverona”s death by the DA”s Office continued.
When the investigation was completed, Anderson decided to take the matter to the grand jury for decision on a possible indictment, which decided not to prosecute.
Piveronas remained out of custody since she posted bail in December.
Contact Isaac Brambila at 900-2020.
