Mafrice identified as "person of interest"
By Jeremy Walsh |
PUBLISHED: December 21, 2010 at 12:00 a.m. | UPDATED: August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.
LAKEPORT — The Lakeport Police Department confirmed Monday that a Kelseyville woman sentenced to prison on Dec. 3 for probation violation is a "person of interest" in the on-going investigation into the 2002 shooting-death of Lakeport business owner Barbara LaForge.
Interim police chief Brad Rasmussen said Monday that 55-year-old Linda Ann Mafrice has been identified as a "person of interest" in the investigation into LaForge"s death.
LaForge, 43, was shot four times by a small caliber gun the morning of Oct. 8, 2002 at the framing shop she owned on Main Street in Lakeport. The homicide had been Lakeport"s first since 1995.
LaForge"s death has remained unsolved for more than eight years. In 2009, LPD hired retired investigator Louis Riccardi as a detective to assist in the LaForge investigation. Riccardi had 30 years of law enforcement experience in San Mateo and had worked on more than 100 homicides in his career.
Riccardi also said Monday that Mafrice is a "person of interest" in the LaForge investigation but said he would not discuss the investigation specifics that have led to that classification.
The Lake County Sheriff"s Office arrested Mafrice on Oct. 29, 2009 for violating the conditions of her probation stemming from a 2004 conviction on theft charges.
Mafrice pleaded guilty in 2004 to a felony charge of theft of property from an elder or dependant adult.
Mafrice was ordered to pay more than $113,000 in restitution as part of the terms of her five-year probation for the property theft conviction. Mafrice still owed more than $44,000 in restitution to the victim as of her arrest.
Mafrice"s attorney Stephen C. Carter filed a continuance motion on Dec. 2 on behalf of his client, which indicated the overdue money would be available to Mafrice and paid to the victim between Dec. 13 and 24.
Judge Andrew Blum sentenced Mafrice on Dec. 3 to four years and eight months in state prison for violating the terms of her probation and ordered her to pay more than $44,000 in outstanding restitution and other fees.
There is a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for LaForge"s death.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.