Jere Melo: A preventable tragedy?

By Sonia Fletcher Dinger
Siskiyou Daily News
Posted Sep 15, 2011 @ 08:48 AM

Mount Shasta, Calif. —
I was saddened to learn about the recent murder of Mount Shasta native Jere Melo and sadder still to learn about suspect Aaron Bassler’s history of schizophrenia and his family’s desperate attempt to get him treatment when he was jailed last February. Letters to the court and the jail went unanswered. Bessler’s father wrote that he feared for “his safety, their safety and that of the community.” Unfortunately, there is little authorities could have done under current law.

Since mental patients were de-institutionalized with promises of community mental health care that never materialized, the seriously mentally ill have been entering the revolving door of jails and prisons or are often homeless on our streets. With their broken minds commandeered by bizarre thoughts, delusions and hallucinations that seem very real, they may act out violently based on delusional beliefs or become victims of violence against them. As if in a dream where weird things make perfect sense, they may not realize they are “crazy” or want help. (Brain chemicals and cells are disrupted.)

Though the newer anti-psychotic medications are usually very effective at treating schizophrenia, the irony is that laws have changed so that it is very difficult for families to get treatment for a mentally ill loved one if they don’t agree to treatment voluntarily. Many tragedies like this one can be prevented if our mentally ill get treatment before it is too late.

Fortunately, there is a California law that can help, but counties must be willing to implement it. Named “Laura’s Law” after a young woman who was killed by a mentally ill man in Nevada County, it provides a means for families, providers and police to petition for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment (AOT). The person must have a serious mental illness plus a recent history of jailings, psychiatric hospitalizations or threats of serious violent behavior. The law contains safeguards against overuse and is endorsed by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), the California Psychiatric Association and the Police Chiefs Association.

“Laura’s Law” is modeled after “Kendra’s Law” in New York, which has been impressively successful in reducing homelessness and violence by helping people get and stay well. The program has saved taxpayer money in Nevada County by reducing incarceration and psychiatric hospitalization costs. For more information about “Laura’s Law,” Google the Treatment Advocacy Center. A good book about our failed mental health system is “Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness,” by Pete Earley. Contact the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors if you want “Laura’s Law” implemented here.

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Jere Melo Slain: Mendocino Councilman Fatally Shot At Drug Farm
First Posted: 8/29/11 01:11 PM ET Updated: 8/29/11 08:51 PM ET
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Aaron Bassler, 35

On Saturday morning, longtime forester and former mayor Jere Melo was shot and killed in Fort Bragg when he stumbled upon a poppy farm while investigating a report of marijuana growth.

The Press Democrat reported that Melo, who worked for Campbell Timber Management, was walking through company timberland with a coworker searching for a reported marijuana farm when the pair encountered a field of poppies being guarded by Aaron Bassler, a transient from Fort Bragg. Allegedly, Bassler fired and shot Melo. The coworker was able to escape and call authorities, who later found Melo's body, according to SFGate. Bassler is still on the loose and is considered armed and dangerous.

According to The Press Democrat, passengers aboard Fort Bragg's historic Skunk Train reported hearing seven or eight shots as the train approached the area. Marnie Elder, a Skunk Train photographer and personal friend of Melo's, was stunned when he learned the source of the shots. "[Melo] is a forester, and he was out with somebody else, basically walking the land to make sure there aren't pot farmers," he said. "And there was a man who was fully armored, dressed all in black, with a semi-automatic weapon." The coworker who escaped the shooting flagged down the driver of the train for help after calling authorities.

The local sheriff's department immediately deployed its SWAT team, which is now searching the area for Bassler.

According to the Fort Bragg City Council website, Melo was first elected as a councilmember in 1996 and served as Fort Bragg mayor from 2000 to 2004. He graduated with a degree in forestry from UC Berkeley and moved to Fort Bragg in 1966. He is survived by his wife, Madeleine. In a press release from the Fort Bragg City Council, Mayor Dave Turner said, "Jere was the best of us. No one gave more of himself to our community. The shock of his death is too fresh to begin to realize all the ways we will miss him. Today I mourn for the loss of a dear friend […] Words cannot express our sadness."

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By CHRISTINA CARON (@cdcaron)
Sept. 1, 2011

The father of a man suspected of killing a popular city councilman in Fort Bragg, Calif., told ABCNews.com his son may have murdered someone else in August, just months after he said the legal system ignored concerns about his son's behavior.

Aaron Bassler, 35, is currently suspected of killing city councilman and former Fort Bragg mayor Jere Melo while Melo patrolled forestland on a private timber company adjacent to California's Noyo River. Aaron Bassler, who is believed to be schizophrenic, was tending two small opium poppy fields when he allegedly shot Melo with a rifle, according to police.

In the past, "he never really did anything violent but you could feel the potential there," said his 59-year-old father, James Bassler. "We were all pretty scared of him, that he might go over the edge."

When Bassler heard property manager Matthew Coleman had died of a gunshot wound about 15 miles away near Westport, Calif., where his ex-wife had recently dropped off their son, he connected the dots.

His ex-wife, Bassler said, had tried to help their son in the only way she knew how, especially after Aaron Bassler crashed his car into a school tennis court during a drunk driving accident six months ago that resulted in his car and license being taken away.

"She was very accommodating," he said, adding that she hasn't had any contact with him since the first shooting that occurred nearly three weeks ago.

"A few months back she was able to acquire food stamps for him," Bassler said, explaining his son had given up growing marijuana several years ago and didn't appear to have any other source of income.

"If he called her up -- she gave him rides. I believe she dropped him off up in Westport area [prior to the Aug. 11 shooting]," Bassler said.

As of right now, police haven't yet determined if Aaron Bassler shot Coleman, too.

"We're waiting for our evidence to tell us if that's related," Mendocino County Sheriff spokesman Kurt Smallcomb told ABCNews.com today.

Searching for Aaron Bassler

In the meantime, officers assisted by several groups including the National Guard and FBI continue to conduct ground and aerial searches, but Aaron Bassler has so far managed to elude investigators.

James Bassler says his son knows the woods very well. He said his son had been living in the forest for four months after getting evicted from a Fort Bragg cabin owned by his grandmother, who died recently and left the property to somebody else.

Jere Melo's death shook the small coastal town of Fort Bragg, with a population of 7,000.

"We're in shock. It's unbelievable," Mayor Dave Turner told the Associated Press earlier this week. "No one has put in as much work here as Jere has. And I don't think anyone ever will."

Melo, who had been investigating reports of a marijuana farm on the day he was shot, was accompanied by a co-worker who managed to escape and call police on his cell phone.

Police sent a SWAT team to the rural, rugged area but did not find Bassler, who was last seen with a high-caliber rifle and is considered armed and dangerous.

"He's likely out there thinking he's Rambo, shooting the bad guys," Bassler said. "He's just totally lost."

Melo's memorial service is planned for Sept. 10 at the high school Timberwolf Stadium he helped build. It's considered by many to be one of his greatest accomplishments while in public office. He is survived by his wife and two adult children.

A Family's Fear

"I learned what schizophrenia was … way, way too late," Bassler said. "I'm so frustrated with the system, I'm telling you this didn't have to happen."

Bassler told ABCNews.com his daughter had written a letter to the court begging for her brother to get help earlier this year after Aaron Bassler had gotten arrested for drunk driving. And James Bassler had written a letter to the medical staff at the jail, distributing copies to his son's public defender and the Sheriff's office.

"We tried to alert the authorities – basically the way I said it, I still have a copy of the letter, 'We fear for his safety, the family's safety and community's safety,' if this mental illness isn't addressed," Bassler said.

He reportedly received no answer.

The Sheriff's office was not immediately available for comment.

It wasn't the first time he said his family had tried to get law enforcement officials to pay attention to Aaron Bassler's mental health.

"He has a long, long rap sheet," Bassler said.

About two and half years ago, Bassler said, his son caused a bomb scare at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco after leaving packages "with strange drawings and writings," described by the San Francisco Chronicle as "drawings of red stars and writings that referred to the 'Martian military.'"

"They released him to his mother," Bassler said. "Whatever they determined, whatever analysis they did, they kept it to themselves. He was basically let back into the community."

At one point within the past year, after confronting his son about a cooking fire that could have spread to other people's homes, his son "just blew up and threatened to take my life, and he just snapped into a real angry, scary mood," Bassler said, explaining his son's erratic behavior had been so commonplace that all of the odd and frightening moments had blended together, making it difficult to pinpoint exactly when each episode happened.

"How can the mentally ill that don't think anything's wrong with them … how can they be helped if no one communicates?" he asked.

Now, Bassler says it's too late for his son -- who was a "normal child" until he started exhibiting erratic behavior at age 19 -- to get the help he needs.

"I really do believe it's too late for him. I worry as much or more about the prospect of losing another inocent life as I do about his sad future," Bassler said.

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Another failed attempt for a family to seek help for their mentally ill son. They probably don't have the money for in-patient treatment. And, the government let him walk and look what happened!!!!

10/2/11

A man suspected in the fatal shootings of a Fort Bragg city councilman and a county land trust official was shot and killed Saturday after a massive manhunt in the redwood forests of Northern California.

Mendocino County Sheriff Thomas Allman said Aaron Bassler was shot seven times some 6 miles east of Fort Bragg after he was sniffed out in the forest by a bloodhound tracking a nearby burglary. Three members of the Sacramento County's SWAT team were in the trees above Bassler and when they saw him coming toward them on a timber trail, they shot him.

Allman initially said Bassler raised his gun at the deputies as they approached, but later said he raised his rifle as he was falling from the gunfire.

"I wish that this incident could have ended without another shot being fired," Allman said. But, he added, "I fully support the manner in which this ended. There will be no more lives which will be endangered by Aaron Bassler."

Bassler, 35, had been sought since Councilman Jere Melo and a second man separately confronted him while investigating reports of an illegal marijuana farm outside of town.

Police said Bassler was cultivating some 400 poppy plants and was holed up in a makeshift bunker when he fired on the 69-year-old Melo and a co-worker who escaped and called for help.

Bassler was also wanted in the fatal shooting of Matthew Coleman of the Mendocino County Land Trust. The former Fish and Game Department employee was found dead next to his car on Aug. 11 up the coast from Fort Bragg.

Dozens of local and federal authorities scoured the forests near Fort Bragg in one of the area's largest manhunts in decades, but Bassler eluded them for more than a month. He exchanged gunfire with Alameda County deputies on Thursday, when authorities noticed he was dressed in black and had a high-powered rifle that was seen in a surveillance photo taken last week. It was the same weapon he is accused of using to kill Melo on Aug. 27.

The 7,000 residents of Fort Bragg had been on edge while the manhunt enveloped the coastal community about three hours north of San Francisco. Both Melo and Coleman had been well regarded locally for their love of the land and volunteer community work.

"Relief," said Elizabeth McNeill, a sales clerk at the Sears appliance store in downtown Fort Bragg. "It's a sad situation, but now people can relax. I just hope Jere's wife can get some closure."

Morgan Peterson, a baristo at the Headlands Coffeehouse, said he had hoped for a peaceful resolution. "It makes me kind of sad" that the standoff ended in Bassler's death, he said. "But it wasn't unexpected, and I'm glad it's over."

Posters seeking his capture hung in the windows of most shops in this fishing and lumber town, where authorities told residents to stay out of their vacation cabins until Bassler was arrested.

Chriss Zaida, who owns a clothing store across from the coffeehouse, heard whooping in the streets when news of Bassler's death spread through town. "But I'm not high-fiving people," she said. "I have the utmost sympathy for his victims, but also for the law enforcement agents who had to do what they had to do. And I can't imagine what his family is going through."

Bassler's father, James, was out of town on Saturday. His stepmother, Helen, said she was devastated but did not want to comment further.

James Bassler had been vocal about his son's undiagnosed mental illness after his past arrests for DUI and for throwing red military stars and notes over the fence of the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. He told The Associated Press in a recent interview that he had called on Mendocino County officials to help his son, and hoped the Board of Supervisors will pass a law that would allow for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment for those who refuse treatment.

Officials had been confounded by Bassler's skills and ability to elude them in the 400-square-mile search perimeter. Authorities believe that during his time at large, he broke into a half-dozen cabins in the woods to restock his food supplies.

The forest is also frequented by tourists, particularly those who take the fabled Skunk Train that traverses the redwood route from Fort Bragg to Willits. The railroad, which runs near Melo's murder scene, had been partially commandeered to transport agents and supplies into the woods.


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