Tye “Glenn” Champ, 48,?had some pretty big dreams not long ago. The California man sought the GOP nomination for governor of California in March 2014. Now? He’s?been taken into the custody of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department after shooting a neighbor.
Witnesses report that there was a dispute over road construction that was being done. Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims told?the Fresno Bee:
?Champ was angry at the 13-year-old and slashed the tires on the ATV that the child was riding,? Mims said. ?The parents came to the scene and confronted Champ and that’s when the father was shot, then other witnesses ? including the victim and the 13-year-old ? ran away as more shots were being fired at them from Champ.?
After the shooting spree, Champ fled the scene in his vehicle and was arrested?.
The man who was shot was hit in the stomach. He has undergone surgery at Community Regional Medical Center and is in serious condition but is expected to recover. Gunfire also hit and killed a horse that was grazing in a nearby pasture. Mims says that Champ was “shooting pretty indiscriminately … it’s fortunate no one else was hit.”
Champ (a hard name to live up to?) has a criminal history that goes back to 1985. He is a registered sex offender, has several convictions already for weapons offenses, and?served time in prison on a manslaughter conviction. He was working as a garbage hauler in the late 1990s and killed a rival trash hauler by running over him.
He became a changed man, he said, after finding the Lord. From Raw Story:
At the time, Champ had asserted that he had changed after finding religion following an arrest after picking up an under-aged prostitute, saying, ?I found the Lord when I got arrested for picking up the prostitutes. I was like most people, ignorant in the darkness, in the very dark. I had no peace, had no love, had no joy. And now I do. Praise God for that?. I’ve grown considerably since I met Christ.?
Well, we’re relieved that he now has peace, love, and joy. Imagine how bad this could have been otherwise, eh?
Champ has been booked into the Fresno County Jail for attempted murder, willful cruelty to an animal, willful cruelty to a child, and felony possession of a firearm. His bail has been set at $500,000.
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h/t Raw Story
Tiffany Willis is the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
