Tag Archives: Andrade

PERSON OF INTEREST in Gualala Raid

Superbowl streaker wearing pink leotard

by Stacey Warde

As often happens in small communities, especially where news is hard to come by, stories get blown out of proportion yet, on a dime, they can also twist themselves into even stranger truths, or fictions. This one, however, looks to be true.

In my lighthouse post, I reported that a small army of armed men wearing black hoodies had descended upon a home not far from Gualala, the southern tip of Mendocino County where pot grows more quickly, and perhaps draws, or used to anyway, more dollars to the area than the surrounding redwoods.

The number of attackers, as reported by the local media, is still unclear but, reading between the lines, I would guess it was probably in the neighborhood of two banditos, not 20 as originally reported, one of whom was allegedly identified and is now a person of interest in the raid: Yuri Andrade, also known as the man who streaked through a Superbowl game wearing a pink leotard.

The only person who seems to be active on the story is a fella who goes by the name of Matt LaFever, an educator not a full time journalist. I like that he’s out there, since no one else seems to be actively monitoring the police but him. Still, we had to wait TWO days for an update on 20 armed thugs running around in the woods.

LaFever found some good material, documenting the police getting a warrant to search the besieged home. Of course, the cops found nearly 2,000 pounds of pot there. Perhaps there was also a ton of cash, as there usually is because banks refuse huge deposits of cash earned off a Schedule 1 drug, but we don’t know because the details are not yet forthcoming, either because no one is telling us, or because no one is asking.

Obviously, this is an unfolding drama and, in the interests of promoting the work of a local journalist doing the best he can, I highly recommend reviewing LaFever’s report, which includes photos and video, on the Person of Interest: The Superbowl streaker who wore a pink leotard.