Pot bust turns to shootout

Officers raiding an allegedly illicit marijuana garden in Berry Creek early Tuesday morning got more than they’d bargained for, according to a press release.

Officers from the Butte County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Unit, along with those from the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force, approached the Feather Ridge Road location and arrested Javier Favela-Anguiano, a 29-year-old Mexican national.

Inside the garden, deputies shot Juan Gutierrez, 24, from Southern California, with a bean-bag gun. Gutierrez then ran into the garden and allegedly shot at officers with a handgun. Deputy Jack Storne returned fire, hitting Gutierrez in the leg.

Favela-Anguiano is being charged with cultivation/sales of marijuana and being armed in the commission of a felony. Gutierrez, who was treated at a nearby hospital, is being charged with cultivation/sales of marijuana, attempted murder on a peace officer and being armed in the commission of a felony.