A defendant accused in a hit-and-run committed in Palo Cedro is no longer in custody. On the afternoon of September 27th a vehicle driven at a high rate of speed struck Carlos Zapata at the Palo Cedro Park. Organizers of the Palo Cedro Rodeo were breaking down the event at the time. They say the suspect vehicle had been seen several times that day doing burnouts in the parking lot. Zapata, a Red Bluff business owner, was known for being one the organizers of the “Red, White, and Blueprint” movement that supported a slate of right wing candidates in Shasta County several years ago. Zapata sustained broken bones and a punctured lung. Witnesses told arriving deputies that the collision was intentional and they identified the driver as 47-year-old Dustin Alan Mingarelli. He was taken into custody by police in Napa. At last week’s arraignment the District Attorney’s Office asked that Mingarelli be held without bail, arguing that his being found in Napa showed he was a flight risk. The judge ordered bail of $500,000 and Mingarelli apparently has posted it and been released.
-Steve Gibson