Story Tools

Email this story | Print this story

Indexes

Today's Stories

Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• Local farmer Bruce Fry passionate about his vision for Lodi-Stockton farm zone

• Who made big news in 2008?

• Juan Carlos Lopez Jr. is first born in Lodi for 2009

• Suit settlement, Blue Shield among area's '08 success stories

• Regional Roundup

• Clarification

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (167)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (72)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (50)
• Public health care is a Christian option (33)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (18)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (17)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

ADVERTISEMENT

Bad checks put GrapeSox owner Stevie Mac in jail

Steven M. McPherson, who is accused of not paying bills during his ownership of the Lodi Grapesox and San Luis Obispo Blues baseball teams, was arrested Friday in Reno, Nev., on bad check charges related to his ownership of the San Luis Obispo team.

McPherson, who also used the name Stevie Mac, was arrested by Nevada authorities on a warrant issued by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's office on three felony charges of passing checks with insufficient funds in his account.

Karen Valine, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, said its economic crimes unit investigated the checks and is pressing the charges, which are a violation of California penal code section 476.

McPherson, 49, was in jail in Nevada on Friday. He will be entitled to an extradition hearing before possible transport to San Luis Obispo.

The total amount for the bad checks is almost $12,000, but he should face a cost of $18,000 in total restitution between interest and other fees, deputy district attorney Jerret Gran said. Gran said the city of San Luis Obispo, which had checks from the Blues bounce for the rental of SLO Stadium at Sinsheimer Park, was the victim of two of the checks. A third was made out to an individual.

The office investigated other McPherson checks that were returned because of insufficient funds, but there is a high standard of proof required with California Penal Code 476, Gran said.

"With these three checks, we believe we can prove he didn't have sufficient funds when he wrote them," Gran said.

McPherson owns the Grapesox, the Blues and the Sierra Baseball League. All three are facing either claims of unpaid wages that have been filed with the state, or vendors who say they remain unpaid.

McPherson is also on probation for a single charge of bad-check writing in the amount of $125,956 between multiple checks and restitution in the state of Nevada, said Bernie Zadrowski, chief of the bad check unit of the Clark County District Attorney's Office. McPherson wrote the Nevada checks as the owner of a Las Vegas-based company called World Tournament Golf.

He was sentenced to 60 months probation on that charge in April 2006, said Officer Matt Trzpis, a spokesman for the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Division of Parole and Probation.

McPherson had applied for and received permission from Nevada to reside in Arizona, but Nevada has no record that he has been living in California, Trzpis said. He said that a conviction for McPherson in San Luis Obispo County may cause Nevada authorities to revoke his probation in that state.

"If he is brought up on charges there, if it is actually something new, we would take him back before the original judge and tell her about the new crime," Trzpis said.

On documents associated with the Blues and other business interests, McPherson used a Sacramento area address. He also owned a sports radio show that was broadcast in the Roseville area for a period of time.

McPherson's arrest in Nevada followed a Washington state conviction on theft and bad check charges in an investment scheme associated with a Port Townsend, Wash., golf course. The Washington amounts totaled $160,000 in the late 1990s, and he was either in custody or under the supervision of the Washington State Department of Corrections through 2002, a department spokeswoman said.

The Grapesox ended their inaugural and last season in Lodi in $35,000 in debut. While McPherson fought to bring the team back despite the financial problems, he was unable to secure Zupo Field in 2009, leaving the Grapesox without a place to play in town.