Weather, Indictments and Kings Playoffs Run: Sacramento’s 2023 Year in Review
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(FOX40.COM) — With another year in the books for the Sacramento region it is time to look back at the rather history-making year for Northern California.
Unpredictable and Intense Weather
As Sacramento said goodbye to another drought year in 2022 and looked forward to a more productive weather year in 2023, Mother Nature was gearing up for a year to remember.
Heavy Rainfall and Flooding
The cheers of “Happy New Year” and clink of champagne glasses were muffled by heavy rainfall brought by unrelenting storms that broke several levees in the Sacramento area.
Those driving on Highway 99 between Elk Grove and Galt on Jan. 1 found themselves trapped in rising flood waters as three levees along the Cosumnes River were breached.
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The area of the highway near Dillard Road saw dozens of cars submerged in the freezing water and emergency responders conducting rescues of trapped motorists.
It would not be until around 7:50 a.m. on Jan. 2 that the roadway would reopen.
This first of more than a dozen atmospheric rivers to hit Northern California in the coming months knocked out power for thousands in the Sacramento area and claimed the first lives of the intense storms.
On the afternoon of Jan. 1, the National Weather Service shared that more than two inches of rain fell on Sacramento in a single day and more than two feet of snowfall was recorded near Donner Lake.
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Continued rainfall throughout January would swell local creeks causing roadways to collapse and bring rivers to flood stages across the Sacramento region.
After a month of driving rains, flooding and several feet of snowfall, Northern California residents were looking for February to provide respite.
Once again the weather turned for the extreme as near-freezing temperatures swept across the Sacramento Valley.
Historic Snowfall
The Sierra Nevada saw some of the most impressive results from the 9 atmospheric rivers that hit its peaks and slopes as snow levels were nearly 200% above average for Feb. 1.
The Department of Water Resources recorded 85.5 inches of snow and 33.5 inches of snow water equivalent.
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On Feb. 3 another round of storms was headed for the Sierra the dropped more than an additional foot of snow and brought 100 mph winds that caused two to four-foot waves on Lake Tahoe.
The towering snow not only created challenging conditions when trying to clear roadways and walkways but also became a major risk of crushing buildings.
On March 1, a three-floor apartment building in Olympic Valley was hit by an avalanche that buried the bottom two floors in a 25-foot deep and 200-yard wide wall of snow.
Evacuations were carried across the surrounding communities due to the continued risk of avalanches.
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Crushing snow once again impacted communities in the Sierra Nevada as the roof of Calvary Chapel Foresthill, in Foresthill collapsed under the weight of a massive snow pile.
Mudslides, Tornados and Earthquakes
Crushing snow was not the only residents had to worry about as a mudslide in Colfax nearly swallowed a house in dirt.
Constant rain in the area compromised the integrity of a nearby hillside that gave way on March 15 and threw dirt, rocks and trees through the home.
Rain and snow were not the only weather to disrupt Northern California in 2023.
In the midst of atmospheric rivers during the middle part of January, two tornados touched down in Northern California.
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An EF-1 tornado touched down just outside the community of Milton in Calaveras County on Jan. 11, destroying several trees in the area.
A few days later on Jan. 15, a weak tornado briefly touched down in the southern part of Sacramento County.
This tornado caused damage to several homes, an RV and dog kennels.
To complete the trifecta of uncommon natural events in the Northern California region, Sacramento County was hit by two seismic events just days apart from each other.
On Oct. 18, the United States Geological Survey measured a magnitude 4.2 earthquake in the southeast Sacramento City of Isleton.
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More than 1,000 people responded to the USGS’s ‘Did You Feel It?’ report. The report furthest from the epicenter came from Olivehurst in Yuba County.
On Oct. 23, Isleton residents once again felt the earth shake under their feet as a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded by the USGS.
Eric Abril
On April 6, Eric Abril etched his name into the City of Roseville’s history and the lives of the people he injured or killed.
Mahany Park Shooting
Abril was walking his dog at Mahany Park in west Roseville on April 6 when California Highway Patrol officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant on him.
Report: Mahany Park shooter suspect escaped while deputy was in bathroom
While fleeing from the officers, Abril shot one of the CHP officers and then took two incident bystanders hostage as they were enjoying a day in the park.
A shootout then began between CHP officers, Roseville Police Department officers and Abril.
During the firefight, Abril shot both of the hostages, killing one and injuring the other. He was eventually taken into custody.
This just-over-two-hour event forced the lockdown of several park facilities filled with children on spring break, saw nearby firefighters run into the line of fire to rescue a downed officer and caused the death of husband James MacEgan.
Escape From Sutter Roseville Medical Center
Just three months after Abril was placed into custody and eventually booked into the South Placer County Jail, he escaped from his guard while at the Sutter Roseville Medical Center.
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At around 3 a.m. on July 9, Abril was able to break free from his restraints while the deputy overseeing him went to use the bathroom, according to an internal report following the escape.
Abril was then able to evade further security and eventually escape the hospital.
For more than 9 hours, Abril was able to evade hundreds of law enforcement personnel and was eventually located in a wooded area behind an apartment complex in Rocklin.
He was spotted by a nearby resident who was walking his dog and alerted authorities.
Placer County Conducts Internal Investigation Into Abril’s Escape
Abril’s escape led to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office conducting an internal investigation into their policies and procedures of how they transport and secure inmates during out-of-jail holdings.
The final conclusion by the investigator and former Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones was that staffing shortages at both county jail facilities have led to faults in their corrections division’s policies and procedures.
In response to Jones’ multiple findings and recommendations, the sheriff’s office plans to allocate all five of their new positions approved by the county towards their corrections division.
These new deputies will handle medical tasks, hospital transports and “related security responsibilities across the correction division.”
Davis Stabbings
The City of Davis was on high alert during the early part of May as law enforcement worked to capture a suspect in a series of stabbings that left two men dead and one woman seriously injured.
On April 27, beloved community member David Henry Breaux, also known in the community as ‘Compassion Guy’ was found dead in Central Park. Breaux received his nickname for his part in the installation of the Compassion Bench in 2013.
Two days later on April 29, UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm was found dead in Sycamore Park, just a month before he would graduate with a bachelor’s degree in computer science with honors.
On May 1, the third and final stabbing took place when Kimberlee Guillory was attacked at 2nd and L Streets.
Guillory called 911 and reported that she had been stabbed through her tent several times after the attacker had “interacted” with a group of people nearby beforehand.
On May 4, the Davis Police Department announced they had a suspect in custody, former UC Davis student Carlos Dominguez.
A series of medical assessments by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office and Dominguez’s defense team found that the accused killer was not competent to stand a criminal trial.
A judge ordered Dominguez to be taken to a state hospital.
On Dec. 28, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office announced that Dominguez was deemed competent by a state hospital and fit to return to court.
California’s First Fentanyl-Related Murder Conviction
On Oct. 10, Placer County became the first court in California to sentence a person for a fentanyl-related murder conviction.
Nathaniel Cabacungan was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison which will be served in concurrence with a nine-year sentence for a separate charge, according to the court.
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In July, Cabacungan became the first person to be convicted for a fentanyl-related murder by a California court in connection to the death of Jewels Wolf, 15, of Roseville in June 2022.
“As the sheriff of this community, to anybody who is going to spread this poison, to our constituents, I will use every resource at my disposal to gather the evidence and put a criminal case together and refer that case to the district attorney and make sure you are held accountable,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo.
Fighter Jet Intercepts Civilian Aircraft near Lake Tahoe
While President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were visiting Lake Tahoe in August a strict, but temporary no-fly zone was established over Lake Tahoe.
On Aug. 25, a civilian pilot violated that no-fly zone and was met by two NORAD F-16s and a United States Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin.
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“Flares were employed with the highest regard for the safety of the intercepted aircraft and people on the ground,” NORAD wrote in a news release.
Oldest Living Person in the United States Lives in California
In Willits, California lives the nation’s oldest woman, Edie Ceccarelli, who celebrated her 115th birthday on Feb. 5.
She lived independently until she was 107, according to a short biography given during her previous birthday parade and danced weekly until she was 104.
She is a pillar of the community, and she invited people to celebrate her 100th birthday by taking out an ad in the paper.
Kings Playoffs Run
For the first time in 17 years, there was an NBA playoff basketball game in Sacramento.
The Kings broke the longest drought playoff drought in NBA history and in North America’s major sports.
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In Mike Brown’s first year as coach, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis orchestrated one of the league’s best offenses and led the team to the Western Conference’s third-best record at 48-34.
The Kings earned their first playoff victory in 17 years with a thrilling 124-123 victory in Game 1 of a first round series against the Golden State Warriors. Fox (38 points) and Malik Monk (32) lead the way for the Kings, scoring a combined 70 points.
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The season officially ended for the resurgent Kings following a Game 7 home loss to the Golden State Warriors in the first round.
Fox and Sabonis became the first pair of Kings teammates to make the NBA All-Star Game since 2004. The pair were also named to the All-NBA Third Team, the first All-NBA selection for both Fox and Sabonis.
Fox also won the league’s inaugural Clutch Player of the Year award. Brown was unanimously named coach of the year and Keegan Murray, the fourth overall selection in the 2023 draft, was named to the All-Rookie First Team.
Sean Loloee
The dramatic series that is Sean Loloee continued in the later part of 2023 as Federal and state agents were spotted at three Viva Supermarket locations owned by the Sacramento City Council member.
On Oct. 26, FOX40.com received a statement from Homeland Security reading, “Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigations, and the State of California, Department of Justice are conducting a court authorized criminal law enforcement activity at several locations in the Sacramento area. To protect all parties involved in this activity, that’s all we can share at this moment.”
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In December, an indictment against Loloee and Viva Supermarket general manager Karla Montoya was unsealed revealing a number of federal charges.
The charges could add up to a sentence of over 100 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines if Loloee and Montoya are found guilty.
According to the indictment, the pair are facing charges related to intimidation and spying, avoiding paying earned overtime, changing employees from hourly to salary to avoid overtime pay and having employees return backpay money to Loloee.
On Dec. 28, Loloee announced that he would not be resigning from his seat on the Sacramento City Council despite facing federal charges and being found by the FBI to live in Granite Bay instead of within his district.
“Politics is a rough business and lends itself to unfair and savage attacks,” Loloee wrote in an email on Dec. 28. “Unfortunately, those who opposed my campaign and disagreed with some of my views on how Sacramento can improve never stopped their attacks after the votes were tallied.”
Shakir Khan
In February, then-Lodi City Councilmember Shakir Khan was arrested for charges related to election fraud.
While facing a judge for alleged election crimes, another case moved forward that accuses him and his brothers of running illegal gambling hubs at two of his businesses.
As Khan was in custody for his election fraud charges, Lodi Mayor Mikey Hothi visited him in jail advising him to resign, which Khan later agreed to, according to body camera footage from San Joaquin County Jail.
Shortly after the mayor announced the resignation, Khan’s lawyer, Allen Sawyer, denied it was valid, claiming his client was coerced.
Khan took legal action against the city, Hothi and other council members, filing a lawsuit claiming “unlawful conduct” in removing him from his role on the city council.
The Lodi City Council later appointed Ramon Yepez to Khan’s District 4 seat in March following hours of interviews and back-and-fourth deliberations.
In November, Khan entered a “not guilty” plea for charges against him.
A trial date for Khan’s charges related to election fraud, tax evasion and illegal gambling has been set for Jan. 2.
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