Sign in Subscribe
By Elise Cox on

Misdemeanor Case Against Ex-Ukiah Teacher LaFever Inches Toward a Disposition

Former Ukiah High teacher and MendoFever publisher Matthew LaFever's misdemeanor case was continued to Nov. 19 for a possible disposition.

Ukiah News
Pencil sketch of a man in his 30s with short wavy hair and a checked button-up shirt, looking straight ahead with a neutral expression.
Matthew LaFever was arrested in November 2025 and formally charged with a misdemeanor on April 9, 2026 (Illustration by MendoLocal.News CC BY 4.0)

UKIAH, Calif. — A misdemeanor case against Matthew LaFever, the former Ukiah High School journalism teacher who published the now-shuttered news site MendoFever, is moving toward a possible resolution nearly a year after his arrest.

At a brief setting hearing Nov. 4 in Mendocino County Superior Court, defense attorney Orchid Vaghti told Judge Charlotte Scott that both sides had just received outstanding discovery in the case. The parties agreed to return Nov. 19 for what they described as a potential disposition, and the judge continued the matter to that date. LaFever did not appear; state law lets a misdemeanor defendant appear through counsel.

LaFever, 38, faces a single misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child under 18 (Penal Code section 647.6(a)(1)). He was arrested by Ukiah police in November 2025, charged in April 2026, and has pleaded not guilty. He was released on his own recognizance and remains free; no trial date is set.

The case has drawn attention beyond the single charge. Because LaFever was a working journalist, the court appointed a special master to screen material seized from his devices for press-protected, unpublished newsgathering information, and District Attorney David Eyster recused his himself, citing LaFever's past coverage of him.

You Read Our Story. Please Help Fund Our Newsroom.

MendoLocal.News was created by locals for locals. We pay attention and dig deeper and we distribute for free. With your support, we can keep going.

3× Give today and donors will triple your gift.
Fund Our Newsroom

Correction: The story was updated to reflect that District Attorney David Eyster personally recused himself, not his office. (6:33 a.m. November 6,2026)