Covelo men arrested in connection to reported burglary, shooting at home

Three men were arrested Tuesday in connection with what authorities suspect was a burglary attempt at a Covelo home in which one suspect was believed to have shot at the residence, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.

A fourth person found in a car with one of the burglary suspects was arrested after she was found carrying about 2 ounces of suspected methamphetamine for sale, authorities said.

The investigation found the suspects did not enter the ?Henderson Lane home where the attempted burglary was ?reported and no items were taken, Sheriff’s Office Lt. Shannon Barney said. The motive behind the incident was still being ?investigated by the Sheriff’s Office as of Thursday morning, he said.

Deputies were notified of the burglary and gunfire at about 7:06 a.m. Tuesday at a residence in the 76000 block of Henderson Lane in Covelo, a news release said. Officers with the Round Valley Tribal Police Department told county dispatchers they overhead the sound of gunfire on Henderson Road, and that when they responded, found a man identified as Lee Joaquin, 29, of Covelo, walking on the street carrying an assault rifle, authorities said. Joaquin was taken into custody by police.

Tribal police officers also reported seeing Felix Swearinger, 28, of Covelo, leave the area in ?a white Toyota SUV headed north on the nearby Crawford Road. Officers learned he was accompanied by Covelo resident Ambrose Fallis, 19, and that the car was headed to an address on Logan Lane, approximately 4 miles away from Henderson Lane.

The officers told Mendocino deputies Swearinger had stopped at the address and was seen leaving in a Dodge sedan. Deputies intercepted the car at the ?77000 block of Crawford Road and a search of the vehicle found a stolen 9mm handgun in the rear passenger seat, where Swearinger was seated, the Sheriff’s Office said. Covelo resident Sally Arellano, 33, was arrested carrying what police suspected was methamphetamine for sale, the news release said.

Round Valley officers stayed in the area of Crawford Road and Henderson Road, where they found Fallis walking, Barney said. He was carrying drug paraphernalia at the time of his arrest, authorities said.

Both Fallis and Swearinger were booked into the Mendocino County Jail without the possibility of bail on suspicion of several crimes, including first degree burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime. Swearinger was additionally held on suspicion of shooting at an inhabited home, possession of a stolen weapon and using a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Joaquin was arrested on suspicion of prohibited possession of a firearm and possession of an assault rifle, while Arellano was held in jail on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance for sale and transporting a controlled substance, the news release said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.