As we start the new year of 2014, here are highlights of some of the top news stories for YuccaValley in 2013…
A recall effort against two members of the Yucca Valley Town Council failed when the Registrar of Voters determined the recall petitions did not have enough valid signatures. Council members George Huntington and Robert Lombardo were served with recall notices in April. During the recall effort, the Town Council fired Town Manager Mark Nuaimi in August without cause, giving him a severance payment of $126,000. The Registrar’s bill to the Town of Yucca Valley for reviewing the petitions and the recount was more than $20,000.
A Beaumont man was killed May 9 during an attempted carjacking in YuccaValley in May, and one of the suspected carjackers was killed by police in San Bernardino following a pursuit by law enforcement. Jose Gomez and Bryan Valle, 19, both of Earlimart, are suspected of killing Obette Lacap, 33, after they attempted to carjack his car at the Town Center Mall. Valley was killed by law enforcement in San Bernardino during a gun battle; Jose Gomez is awaiting trial.
