'Patch Pirate' gets 'deaded' in failed Nevada County, CA. pot heist
Nevada County, CA., way up north above San Francisco, has emerged as another Emerald Triangle of cannabis cultivation in California, complete with the requisite batshit crazy home invasion robberies, car chases, and thousands of dollars of cash strewn about the highway. That’s the latest from San Juan where a New Year’s pot farm robbery went cinematicaly awry.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Terry McLeod, 51, of Sacramento, and Timothy Daniel Fitzpatrick, 43, of Elk Grove tried to rob a residential pot farm holding 50 pounds of packaged dope, 108 plants and thousands of dollars the morning of Sunday, January 3. They dressed like cops, busted in, and tied up the occupants of the residence on the 12000 block of Tobacco Road in the North San Juan area. When the dumpy duo made the getaway, things went pear-shaped. Robbery victim:
Christopher Teachout, 32, managed to get free from his bonds and followed the alleged robbers in his truck. Teachout allegedly rammed the getaway truck, driven by Fitzpatrick, in a wild chase through North San Juan, as passenger McLeod allegedly fired shots at Teachout.
Teachout then rammed the robbers’ White F-250 off the road, where it struck a tree and Fitzpatrick died. The farmers called 911 and officers came upon Teachout at the crash scene. Cops found a Mossberg shotgun, three handguns, two large plastic bags containing a large quantity of pre-packaged marijuana and $4,000 in cash.
The cops booked both Teachout and McLeod on charges related to Fitzpatrick’s death. Pundits on both sides are filling the Bee op-ed page with free screeds on why bud needs to be legalized or, never legalized, take your pick.
Fitzpatrick turned out to be a concrete contractor with lots of bills and no prior record. His wife says she thought he was pheasant hunting. The county red-tagged the property on Tobacco Road for multiple code violations related to the farm.
And the community’s perspective? They don’t take kindly to “Patch Pirates”:
“We think they ought to leave the guy alone who was robbed, and they ought to give him a commendation,” said Dick Turnbough, who runs an automotive shop in North San Juan. “The guy who got killed got what he deserved.
“We call it the way it is up here,” Turnbough said. “We don’t like thieves, liars and cheats, and we’re willing to shoot ‘em.”
“If somebody came into my place doing that, they’re going to get ‘deaded,’ and I’m going to dead ‘em. We have a nice quiet community up here, even though people grow pot.”
