James Mongi booking photo
CLEARLAKE — On February 4th just after 12:30 AM, officers arrived on the 14000 block of Walnut Avenue to investigate reports of a stabbing. It was there that they discovered 55-year-old Richard Garner Jr. with a stab wound to his neck.
Although Garner received emergency treatment, medical personnel pronounced him dead at Adventist Health Saint Helena.
Several weeks of subsequent investigation led detectives to the identity of 46-year-old James Mongi of Clearlake who, through probable cause, had been determined to be the primary suspect.
After both search and arrest warrants were secured, detectives paid him a visit on February 20th at around 9 AM on the 14500 block of Walnut Avenue. Mongi himself answered the door and was arrested without incident.
He is currently housed at the Lake County Jail on $1,025,000 bond and is charged with homicide and assault with a deadly weapon.
