Second pot assault in two days forces nude man to retaliate again, police say

The Chico Enterprise-Record ^ | 10/02/2008 | Greg Welter

[fr_freak]

CHICO — A West Lindo Avenue resident said a second attempt in as many days was made Wednesday morning to steal marijuana from a garden in his backyard.

The alleged victim told police he fired several rounds at suspects as they fled in a vehicle on West Lindo at about 4 a.m.

Some of the man's neighbors said they heard at least six shots, but didn't see a vehicle.

... [REST OF ARTICLE AT LINK]

[fr_freak]

This story just has so many wonderful elements - a nude man defending his property with a firearm. But wait - there's more: the property was marijuana plants. A stupid criminal? Not quite - it's legal in California due to medical use. But wait - he fired his weapon outside of the house, which most Californians know is heavily frowned upon in this state. However, he claims it was in response to nearly being run over by a car in one instance and shot at in another.

For people who don't know where Chico is, it's a medium sized (around 80,000 people, including students) college town way up north in the valley.

Here's the money line:

"Police are continuing to evaluate the incident to determine if a crime was committed and, if so, by whom.."

[SoldierDad]

Chico is a medium sized town of approximately 101,000 (Greater Chico Urban Area - check the population sign on Highway 32 coming into Chico - and that does not include college students) located approximately 90 miles north of Sacramento and 75 miles south of Redding, CA.

[Grizzled Bear]

Some of the man's neighbors said they heard at least six shots, but didn't see a vehicle.

I suspect the naked man did not see the vehicle, either, and was just taking "pot-shots."

[fr_freak]

Chico is a medium sized town of approximately 101,000 (Greater Chico Urban Area - check the population sign on Highway 32 coming into Chico - and that does not include college students) located approximately 90 miles north of Sacramento and 75 miles south of Redding, CA.

Hmmm - I haven't seen the sign in a few years, so you could be right. I never fully understood what comprised the "Greater Urban Area" as opposed to the city, itself, but I figured it included those areas connected to Chico but not technically within the official city limits. Some of the newer neighborhoods fall into that category, apparently.

[Steven Scharf]

“Chico is a medium sized town of approximately 101,000”

Where I come from 101,000 is a large city. I live in the largest city in my state and it is shrinking to 60,000 people. We don’t use the term “town” for anything over 20,000 people.

Steven Scharf
SCSMedia@aol.com

[SoldierDad]

The “Urban Area” includes the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the city of Chico - There are pockets of unincorporated (county)land that falls within the limits of the city, but are still controlled by the county. Chico has tried for decades to bring those areas under city control, but the county doesn’t want to lose the revenue from all that land. I once lived in an area of Chico where the apartments I lived in were covered by County services, while the homes right next door were City. We had to call 911 once, and we were asked which service area we lived in, and didn’t know. We learned quickly. There’s a difference in response time.