LAKEPORT— A Clearlake man who had a warrant issued for his non-appearance in 2020 is back in custody at the Lake County Jail.
Ronald Raymond Antoni, 68, was present by remote appearance and in custody for a recent arraignment on an information hearing.
The defendant entered a not guilty plea to all counts of the Information and denied the special allegations.
The defendant has been charged with felony reckless evading, felony of evading a peace officer by driving in the opposite direction of traffic and driving under the influence of alcohol. The defendant is also charged in a separate case with disorderly conduct, being under the influence of a drug, which is trailing the most recent case (high speed chase).
The charges stem from an incident in early 2020 when a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy was patrolling the Clearlake area. He heard a radio broadcast related to a possible intoxicated driver in a green Honda Civic. As the deputy was traveling on Highway 53 near Olympic Drive, he observed the green Honda make a U-turn in the intersection of Olympic Drive and Highway 53. The deputy passed the car and pulled off the roadway. The driver of the green Honda pulled off the roadway in front of the deputy. The deputy approached the vehicle on the passenger side and attempted to contact the driver. As the deputy attempted to open the passenger door, the driver drove off south on Highway 53.
The deputy began to follow the green Honda, but did not activate his lights or siren as he was still attempting to determine if the driver was impaired. The driver of the green Honda continued to Polk Ave. where he made an illegal U-turn and ended up going off the roadway. The deputy activated his lights and siren and attempted to stop the vehicle. The driver did not stop and continued driving north on Highway 53. The driver passed several vehicles over double yellow lines reaching speeds of 80 MPH. The driver made another U-turn in the area of Ogulin Canyon Road. The driver traveled south on Highway 53 continuing to cross the double yellow lines into oncoming traffic. The driver turned onto 18th Ave. entering the Adventist Health Emergency Room parking lot. With the assistance of officers from the Clearlake Police Department and California Highway Patrol the driver was taken into custody.
According to the LCSO, the driver was identified as Ronald Raymond Antoni, 65 years of age at the time of the incident, of Clearlake. He told the deputy he did not stop because he was frightened and attempting to go to the hospital. Antoni admitted to consuming a few alcoholic beverages and recently smoking methamphetamine. He had also been arrested for DUI by the Clearlake Police Department in February of 2020. Antoni was booked into custody at the Lake County Jail on charges of evading, reckless driving, resisting, and DUI. His bail was set at $35,000 at that time and he had bailed out to appear, being a no-show at his scheduled hearing and a warrant was issued.
In 2020 the Court found no justification for the defendant’s non-appearance and ordered a bench warrant in the amount of $2,000
During the recent hearing Attorney William Conwell requested he be allowed to substitute out and there was discussion on whether the defendant wanted to hire private counsel. The defendant requested he be appointed counsel today and he will make a decision on hiring private counsel at a later date.
Attorney Conwell substituted out and the Court appointed Thomas C. Quinn as counsel to represent the defendant.
Attorney Quinn was present by remote appearance.
The matter has been set for a settlement conference on July 22, 2022 with a master calendar call on Aug. 19, 2022.
The jury trial has been set for Aug. 24, 2022 and the defendant is ordered to be present.
The defendant remains in custody and his bail has now been set at $161,000.
