2023 in review: Stormy start, historic ending
Jan. 2—Lodi saw a stormy start to 2023, but ended the year with some history-making appointments.
In between there was political drama, major shakeups in the city's highest ranks, a spike in homicides, a long-awaited opening and much, much more.
Winter storms pound Lodi Area
The year started with heavy rains blanketing the Lodi area, with 3.8 inches falling between 6 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2022 and 6 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2023.
City of Lodi officials said winds reached as high as 51 miles an hour, and some 6,000 residents lost power.
The high winds caused several trees to topple, including 12 at Lodi Lake.
The storms lasted through much of January, causing flooding along northbound Highway 99 at Woodbridge Road in Acampo.
The Arbor Mobile Home Park in Acampo suffered the most flood damage, with some 200 residents forced to evacuate for about a week.
Police face backlash after tazing death of family dog
A family filed a complaint against the Lodi Police Department in January, claiming officers murdered their family dog.
On Jan. 24 at about 3:12 p.m., officers responded to the report of an aggressive dog on Sandpiper Circle.
Upon arrival, officers attempted to detain the dog — a 2-year-old husky named Enzo — but he was able to evade capture.
Officers with the animal services division also arrived on scene, but attempts to catch the dog with a snare pole failed as well. Enzo made his way to Finch Run, where officers eventually deployed a taser to subdue him. The dog died after being tased multiple times.
Enzo's owners said he and three other dogs were able to get out of her house and into the street.
They were able to recover the other three dogs, but Enzo never came home.
The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office later cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.
Lodi city councilman arrested on voter fraud charges
Lodi City Councilman Shak Khan was arrested a second time in two years in February and urged to resign his post after being charged with voter fraud stemming from the 2020 election.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said that as the 2022 mid-term elections approached, a citizen who was inspecting the voter rolls on behalf of a relative contacted investigators and said they found some irregularities with a particular Lodi address.
Investigators determined the address belonged to Khan, and later learned that 70 names on on the voter rolls were registered to his address, email or cellular phone.
He was booked into San Joaquin County Jail. where then-mayor Mikey Hothi visited and urged him to sign a letter of resignation from the council.
Khan later renounced the resignation, and ultimately filed a lawsuit to claim his council seat back. The council appointed Ramon Yepez to fill the remainder of Khan's term.
Lodi man sentenced to life for doctor's murder
In March, Lodi resident Robert Elmo Lee was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 2018 murder of Dr. Thomas Shock.
Just weeks after his Aug. 1, 2018 death, Raymond Jacquett was arrested in Sacramento on suspicion of the murder.
Three other men — Christopher Costello, Mallory Stewart and Lee — were arrested shortly afterward.
According to a warrant released by the court in 2018, Lee's wife Bonnie, who died in 2016, had seen Shock for an ingrown toenail in 2011. The warrant referred to a complaint filed against Shock to the California Board of Podiatric Medicine regarding his treatment of a patient identified by the initials "B.L.," and alleged that Shock's "substandard care" led to part of her foot being amputated in 2012.
During the investigation into Shock's death, a local man told detectives he knew Lee for years, and that he blamed the doctor for his wife's death.
Transient convicted in teens' deaths, granted motion for new attorney
In April, Randall Allenbaugh was found guilty of the 2021 stabbing deaths of 16-year-old Chimera Skaggs and 17-year-old Skyler McConnell near Salas park.
But during his June 12 sentencing, Allenbaugh was granted a request for Marsden motion and new trial.
A Marsden motion is brought by a defendant in a California criminal case requesting to discharge the court-appointed attorney or public defender for inadequate or ineffective assistance of counsel; legal malpractice, or due to a conflict between the attorney and defendant.
Allenbaugh is expected to appear before judge for a motion for a new trial hearing in January.
Bodies of two missing men found in waterways
The vehicle of a missing Stockton man who was last seen in Downtown Lodi was found by a dive team in April.
Jacob VanZant was last seen Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. as he was leaving Shangri La Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar.
He routinely ate at the Downtown Lodi eatery on Fridays before picking his girlfriend up from work on Hammer Lane in Stockton.
That night, he apparently lost his wallet and was unable to pay for his meal. His family said he told Shangri La employees he would find his wallet and return to pay.
The underwater search and recovery dive team Adventures With Purpose located VanZant's white Honda Pilot in the water at the western end of Eight Mile Road in April.
When the Pilot was found, it appeared to have suffered major front-end damage and its windshield was blown out. A male was found inside wearing the hooded sweatshirt Jacob VanZant was reportedly wearing at the time of his disappearance.
Months later, in November, a Lodi man went missing for several weeks and his body was found near the Mokelumne River.
Trevor Thompson was last seen on Sept. 22, when his father left the house for work that morning.
Thompson's mother received a text from Trevor at 6:30 p.m. that night. That was the last communication the family received from him.
His truck had been found at Gravity Church, and Trevor's cell phone was found inside.
Three city officials announce departure
In June, Lodi City Attorney Janice Magdich announced her resignation after nearly 20 years at city hall. Two months later, Lodi City Attorney Steve Schwabauer announced he would be resigning after 24 years at city hall, and Police Chief Sierra Brucia announced he would retire after 29 years at the department.
Magdich was replaced by deputy city attorney Katie Lucchesi, and moved on to represent the San Joaquin Rail Commission.
Schwabauer left for a manger's position at the North San Joaquin Water Conservation District, and deputy city manager Andrew Keys was appointed to replace him in an interim role.
A permanent city manager has yet to be named.
Brucia's last day was was Dec. 30, and was succeeded by Capt. Rick Garcia, who becomes the first Hispanic chief for the department.
Far-right Conservative comes to Lodi
A former candidate for Arizona governor who said her election was rigged and also claimed that the 2020 presidential contest was stolen from Donald Trump came to Lodi in July as part of an event local conservatives said was focused on election integrity.
Kari Lake will be the keynote speaker at "San Joaquin Freedom Fest," an event hosted by the San Joaquin Conservatives at Hutchins Street Square.
News of the event has sparked concern from local residents, with some arguing that such an event shouldn't be held at a city venue.
City officials said the event was a private rental, and that it was not partnering with the organizers. In addition, the city said it could not censor someone because of their political beliefs.
City employee dies while on the job
In August, City of Lodi maintenance worker Ben Gloff was killed by a passing motorist as he stood over a manhole cover at the intersection of Central Avenue and Watson Street.
Gloff, 37, had only been working for the city for about eight months. He was the second city employee to die on the job in Lodi's history.
Bowling alley opens
More than four years after breaking ground, the Lodi BowlingAlley finally opened its doors at 302 N. Sacramento St. in August
The bowling alley is 42,650 square feet in size, with a 1,240-square-foot kitchen and 2,200-square-foot restaurant.
The dining room seats 250 patrons, while the second-story banquet room can accommodate 200.
There are 35 bowling lanes and four private rooms for bowling that can seat as many as 70 people, with as many as five lanes in each.
Salvation Army to run access center
In a somewhat stunning turn of events, the Lodi City Council selected the Salvation Army to be the permanent operator of the Sacramento Street access center, despite recommendation from City of Lodi staff to choose Inner City Action.
The decision, made at a September city council meeting, sparked outrage from dozens of community members, including church leaders and social workers who had helped Inner City Action manage the access center for the past year.
Council members cited the Salvation Army's history in Lodi and experience running its own shelter for granting the organization the contract to run the center.
Lodi mayor Mikey Hothi said at the following meeting that he thought choosing the Salvation Army was a mistake, but his fellow city leaders would not change their minds.
Lodi man becomes meme after 49ers game
Lodi resident Eugene Hernandez became an Internet sensation following the Dallas Cowboys' 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in October.
Hernandez, a firefighter with the Vacaville Fire Department, was captured using his cell phone to make a call by NBC cameras at the end of the Sunday Night Football game, decked out in a Cowboys fireman's helmet and gloves.
The image became an Internet meme, with creators making light of to whom Hernandez might be speaking.
His favorite contains the caption "We're calling about your extended warranty" at the top of the image, with the caption "Go on, I'm not busy" at the bottom.
In reality, Hernandez said he was on the phone with his cousin, who had called him to say everyone had seen him on television.
Local family marks somber 50th anniversary
Nov. 7 marked 50 years since the murder of the Parkin family of Victor, and days before the anniversary, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors allocated $10,000 to install a playground at the park that bears the family's name.
Norm Parkin spent the year raising $75,000 for the playground at Parkin Memorial Park, located next to Victor School on Bruella Road.
His brother Wally, sister-in-law Joanne, and their children Lisa and Bobby, were all murdered in their Victor home by Lodi native William Steelman and Doug Gretzler of New York in the early morning hours of Nov. 7, 1973.
Their neighbors Richard, Wanda, Debbie and Ricky Earl were also murdered, along with Debbie's boyfriend Marc Lang.
Galt city manager resigns
Lodi was not the only city to have an staff member announce their departure.
In December, Galt City Manager Lorenzo Hines, Jr. tendered his resignation to the city council, effective Feb. 2, 2024.
Hines had been with the city since 2020. His replacement has not yet been named.
Craig, Bregman make city council history
Lisa Craig was named Lodi's mayor for 2024 in December, becoming only the fifth woman in the city's history to hold the post.
Cameron Bregman was named vice mayor for 2024, becoming the youngest person at the age of 22 to hold that role.
Craig follows Mabel Richey, Evelyn Olson, Susan Hitchcock and Joanne Mounce as female mayors of Lodi.
Rickey served as mayor for just one term in 1953-54, and Olson, would serve two terms in 1983-84 and 1987-88. Hitchcock became mayor in 2005-06, while Mounce served in 2007-08, and again in 2011-12.
Daryl Geweke passes away
Long-time Lodi businessman Daryl Geweke passed away in December at the age of 96 in December.
Geweke, founder of Geweke Automotive Group, was born in Nebraska and moved to Stockton in 1949. He purchased Green Ford Sales in 1965, and eight years later, would move the storefront into a new building on Cherokee Lane.
He opened the Holiday Inn Express in 1989, and in the 90s, created Lodi's Auto Row along Beckman Road with Dick Sanborn, owner of Sanborn Chevrolet.
After the 2010 closure of Geweke Ford, Geweke focused his attention to Geweke Real Estate for the remainder of his life.
Seven homicides in 2023
Lodi saw its highest number of homicides since 2019 this year, with seven people being killed in shootings.
Coty Bruhn, 33, was killed Dec. 8 when he was shot and killed at Holz Rubber Co. on South Sacramento Street. Frank Avila, a known gang member, was arrested in Galt days later.
Ricky Rawson, 45, died from a gunshot wound to the head in August, months after three men entered his Locust Street home in a residential burglary. His assailants were arrested and are currently awaiting trial. In the early morning hours of July 23 a man in his 20s was hot and killed outside the El Dorado Club on North Sacramento Street. A suspect is still at large.
Felix Makinano, 53, was shot and killed at 4 a.m. on Oct. 2 by a Stockton Realtor Scott Sherman on the 00 block of South School Street. Sherman is currently awaiting trial.
Silverio Cazares Gayosso, 36, and Fernando Rodriguez, 49, were shot and killed on the 1000 block of Central Avenue on Oct. 16. Their assailant, 41-year-old Oscar Hernandez-Tovar of Lodi, was arrested a few days later outside St, Louis.
Pittsburg resident Alan Ruiz, Jr. 15, was shot and killed on the 600 block of Hale Road on Nov. 25 by suspected gang members. His assailants were arrested a few days later.
