Violent crime spree hits Chico

In the span of about 24 hours, Chico saw two stabbings and a drive-by shooting, the last of which has some strange connections to past crimes.

Just after midnight Saturday (Nov. 12), a 19-year-old man reported being stabbed by three men on Rio Chico Way. His wounds were not life-threatening, and police have yet to make any arrests, according to a Chico Police Department press release. A few hours later a 20-year-old man was stabbed at the corner of West Sixth and Oak streets and taken to a local hospital with life-threatening wounds. Chico resident and Butte College student Cameron Shannon was arrested a few hours later for assault with a deadly weapon.

Early Sunday morning Chico police officers conducting a traffic stop heard gunshots fired from a vehicle in front of a house on Humboldt Avenue. The officers gave chase until the vehicle crashed into a fence. Three suspects, Francisco Ramirez, 18; Ryan McIntyre, 21; and Ramon Arismendez, 23, were arrested on charges of shooting at an inhabited dwelling. McIntyre was also charged with DUI and evading a police officer. Ramirez was charged with resisting arrest, and all three had added gang enhancement charges.

This case has some interesting connections. Last Thanksgiving a drive-by shooting took place at the same house where a resident was shot and hospitalized. In September Ramirez was named in connection with the alleged theft of two bicycles a few blocks away. In that case, Richard Massey, 16, was hit by a truck driven by the owner of the bikes, who said Massey had stabbed his friend. Massey suffered a brain injury and was placed in an induced coma at Enloe Medical Center and he is now reportedly recovering from his injuries. Ramirez has not been charged in that case.