Game Warden Shoots Bad Guy
Score one for the good guys.....[:)][:)]
rider
3:04 p.m. October 9, 2007
JARBO GAP - A California Department of Fish and Game warden shot and killed a man in a remote area of the Sierra foothills, the first fatal shooting by a state game warden in the agency's history.
The warden, who was not injured, exchanged gunfire with the man Monday outside a trailer near Jarbo Gap, east of Chico and north of Oroville.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey identified the dead man Tuesday as Bartyn Pitts, 39, of Dana Point in Orange County. Ramsey said Pitts moved into a travel trailer on the rural property in April to help tend an illegal marijuana plot that recently had been harvested.
The warden went to Pitts' trailer Monday to cite him for starting an illegal fire over the weekend in the Feather River canyon. When the warden radioed in Pitts' identifying information, he learned Pitts was wanted on a Hawaii warrant alleging he sold methamphetamine.
Pitts opened fire with a shotgun when the warden returned to the trailer to make the arrest, Ramsey said. The warden shot back, killing Pitts, Ramsey said.
Authorities hope to complete their investigation by the end of the week.
Fish and Game spokesman Steve Martarano said the department would not release the name of the warden, a 10-year department veteran, until the investigation is complete.
"We've had 12 wardens killed in the line of duty, but we believe this is the first suspect shot and killed by a fish and game warden," Martarano said.
The first California game warden was killed in 1913. The most recent shooting of a warden was two years ago when the agent was shot in both legs while assisting Santa Clara County authorities in raiding a marijuana grove. The warden survived, but one of the suspects was fatally shot by an officer from another law enforcement agency
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_7122193
rider
3:04 p.m. October 9, 2007
JARBO GAP - A California Department of Fish and Game warden shot and killed a man in a remote area of the Sierra foothills, the first fatal shooting by a state game warden in the agency's history.
The warden, who was not injured, exchanged gunfire with the man Monday outside a trailer near Jarbo Gap, east of Chico and north of Oroville.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey identified the dead man Tuesday as Bartyn Pitts, 39, of Dana Point in Orange County. Ramsey said Pitts moved into a travel trailer on the rural property in April to help tend an illegal marijuana plot that recently had been harvested.
The warden went to Pitts' trailer Monday to cite him for starting an illegal fire over the weekend in the Feather River canyon. When the warden radioed in Pitts' identifying information, he learned Pitts was wanted on a Hawaii warrant alleging he sold methamphetamine.
Pitts opened fire with a shotgun when the warden returned to the trailer to make the arrest, Ramsey said. The warden shot back, killing Pitts, Ramsey said.
Authorities hope to complete their investigation by the end of the week.
Fish and Game spokesman Steve Martarano said the department would not release the name of the warden, a 10-year department veteran, until the investigation is complete.
"We've had 12 wardens killed in the line of duty, but we believe this is the first suspect shot and killed by a fish and game warden," Martarano said.
The first California game warden was killed in 1913. The most recent shooting of a warden was two years ago when the agent was shot in both legs while assisting Santa Clara County authorities in raiding a marijuana grove. The warden survived, but one of the suspects was fatally shot by an officer from another law enforcement agency
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_7122193
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1-13 sucks.. I say send all them freaking game wardens down to the border for a little target practice!!! 0 -
That is pretty good shooting, if he took on a shotgun with a pistol and won!
Good riddance to bad rubbish.0 -
quote:Originally posted by tobefree
1-13 sucks.. I say send all them freaking game wardens down to the border for a little target practice!!!I give up. What does this refer to?0 -
Thirteen fatal shootings involving game wardens, only one involved the warden shooting the bad guy. 0 -
Uh, okay.
The way it reads 12 wardens have died in the line of duty throughout their history, not that 12 have come out on the losing end of gunfights.0 -
That's true, twelve killed in the line of duty, I guess some might have died in car wrecks, or maybe killed by a bear. 0 -
I don't know about other states, but here in Texas, game wardens have been armed and classed as LEOs for only a reasonably short time. Previously, they did not carry firearms. Could explain the low "kill" ratio. 0 -
IMHO Game Wardens should be a division of the States Police Departments, Assigned to the DOC. Carry all the States authority and be give the backup of the State Police. Give them the hardware to take on the Bad Guys. Good sportsmen do not mind being checked out in the field because they don't cheat, but sometime the wardens just fall into a real criminal and before they get information and help from the State or local Police it's to late. They should work hand in Hand. MY .02 cents. 0 -
Being a game warden is one of the toughest LEO jobs. The majority of the time you work solo in the middle of B.F.E. Most of the a-holes you encounter are armed, at least during hunting season. And a lot of them are sauced up on the hooch. From what I've read about Game Warden deaths, the majority of them are ambushed. One of the Game Wardens from our county was killed earlier this year. They got into a pursuit with a poacher. DPS and sheriff deputies helped out. The pursuit ended on a county road with the suspect firing at the LEOs with an SKS. Game Warden go hit. He was one day shy of his 35th birthday and left behind a wife and eight month old son. He was a genuine good guy. He tried to educate folks about the law and conservation. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by allen griggs
That is pretty good shooting, if he took on a shotgun with a pistol and won!
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Yes, though I was wondering if maybe the shooter was high... I mean its good and all, but how did he completely miss with a shotgun [?][?]0 -
quote:Originally posted by tobefree
1-13 sucks.. I say send all them freaking game wardens down to the border for a little target practice!!!
Or maybe 1-12?0 -
"I don't know about other states, but here in Texas, game wardens have been armed and classed as LEOs for only a reasonably short time. Previously, they did not carry firearms. Could explain the low "kill" ratio."
Game Wardens have been armed in Ga for quite a while. When I began working with them, as a Paramedic, in 1980, they were packing .357 mags.
By the way, I saw some Texas Game Wardens doing some good work during Katrina. They were on duty in New Orleans. They were helping evacuate a hospital. There were two Texas Game Wardens driving one of those big boats powered by an airplane propellor. They would drive the boat up to the hospital and load up with about twelve patients. Of course if the patients were on stretchers, they might carry only four or five.
The word was out that some fine New Orleans citizens were sniping at the rescue boats. These Wardens were heavily armed with pistols and rifles. One was driving the boat, and the other rode shotgun. He had a pistol on his belt, and he was carrying a big semi auto/auto rifle, I couldn't quite tell what it was. He never took his eyes off of the horizon.
These guys did not look like they were playing.0
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