Clearlake man arrested on robbery, assault charges

Lake County deputies arrested a 27-year-old Clearlake man Sunday night on suspicion of shooting a man and crashing a vehicle containing marijuana near Lower Lake.

Jessie Banda was booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of robbery, assault with a firearm and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. His bail was set at $100,000.

Deputies and California Highway Patrol officers responded about 9 p.m. Sunday near Spruce Grove and Cantwell Ranch roads after receiving a report of a possible traffic crash “with firearms involved,” according to a Sheriff’s Office press release.

There deputies found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He said the man who shot him was nearby down an embankment with a vehicle that had gone off the road.

Deputies sighted Banda crawling out of the vehicle with a “metallic object” in his hand. They ordered him to the ground, took him into custody and found a handgun nearby. In the vehicle, deputies found 19 pounds of processed marijuana.

The wounded man, whose name wasn’t released, was taken by air ambulance to an out-of-county hospital. His injuries were were not life-threatening, according to the press release.