Riled up at Riley’s

Just past midnight on Jan. 19 a couple of gunshots were fired in front of Riley’s Bar and Grill at Chico’s infamous intersection of Fifth and Ivy streets. A man had allegedly tried to hold up another man on the backside of the bar, but the victim knocked the gun to the ground and escaped. The alleged would-be robber then walked around to the front of the building, fired off a couple rounds, jumped into a Chevy Impala with a passenger and drove off.

Police responded and gave chase through downtown. When negotiating the Second and Flume streets roundabout, the Impala’s passenger door apparently swung open and the passenger, later identified as Christopher James Sylva, 21, fell out. He was taken to Enloe Medical Center for treatment and later arrested on felony charges. The driver, Forrest Bryce Broughton, 21, was stopped on 20th Street in Chapmantown and arrested on felony charges. Butte County court records show that Sylva was cited on Oct. 15 for failure to wear a seatbelt.