42-year-old Brian Madding changed his plea from not guilty to no contest Monday to the charges of first degree murder during the commission of first degree burglary. According to the Butte County District Attorney's Office, Madding changed his plea as the jury was being picked for the trial.

Maddind allegedly stabbed 86-year-old Greta Putnam to death at her Oroville home during a burglary back in 2018. Oroville Police detectives found evidence reportedly linking Madding to the crime. Madding faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for portions of Northern California from late Tuesday night through Thursday morning. According to the Weather Service, the combination of low humidity, extremely dry fuels, and gusty winds from the north is leading to critical fire weather conditions. The portions of the Sierra Foothills and the Sacramento Valley are under the warning.  

PG&E has added three more counties that could be impacted by the possible power shut off Wednesday. Monday the utility added Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and San Mateo to the list, now making it 22 counties that could be impacted by the power shut off. Butte, Glenn, Tehama, and Shasta are among those counties. PG&E says about 300,000 customers will be affected.

This due to high winds forecast for Wednesday and Thursday along with high fire risk.

The Butte County Energy Authority will meet at 5:30 tonight at the Board of Supervisors Chambers. The Energy Authority is a joint powers agreement between the city of Chico and Butte County. It is a Community Choice Aggregation Program, which allows most county residents a choice for where they purchase their energy from.

According to a Butte County press release, County and City officials expect the Butte County Energy Authority to launch in 2021.

The latest in a series of tree removal meetings will be from 6:30 to 8:30 Tuesday night at the CMA Church on Clark Road in Paradise. The meeting gives residents information about the Tree Removal Program. Should residents want to Government to remove trees they'll need a right of entry form.

The deadline to enroll for that is Friday December 20.

According to a PG&E press release, their metrologists are monitoring a potentially strong offshore wind event on Wednesday. Wind gusts are being forecast in excess of 50 miles per hour in the Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills along with the North Bay Wednesday through Thursday night. This could prompt a power shut off to several Northern California counties including portions of Butte, Glenn, Tehama, Yuba, Sutter and Shasta counties on Wednesday and Thursday. Officials with the utility say the power shutoff could impact around 250 thousand customers.

Cal Fire is reporting that the Ranch Fire in Tehama County is 100 percent contained. The blaze started November the 3rd and burned 2,534 acres southwest of Red Bluff. 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California residents who lost their home insurance because of the threat of wildfires could soon buy comprehensive policies from a state-mandated plan funded by the insurance industry.

Private insurance companies have been dropping policies of many people who live in fire-prone areas as wildfires continue to threaten the state.

Most turn to the California FAIR Plan, an insurance pool mandated by state law that is required to issue policies to people who can’t buy them through no fault of their own.

But the FAIR Plan policies are limited. On Thursday, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara ordered the plan to begin selling comprehensive policies by June 1. He also ordered the plan to double homeowners’ coverage limits to $3 million by April 1.

Lara said the changes reflect the state’s “new reality.”

On Thursday Chico Police Detectives spotted 25-year-old Cody Pettigrew driving a vehicle in the area of Humbodlt Road and Forest Avenue. Multiple patrol officers assisted the detectives making a traffic stop on Pettigrew's vehicle. Pettigrew was arrested after a brief foot chase.

The arrest stems from an incident on August 15th when Pettigrew allegedly shot at an occupied vehicle near the intersection of Forest Avenue and Humboldt Road. According to Chico Police, no one in the vehicle was injured in the incident.

28-year-old Trevor McElhaney was arrested in Oroville Thursday, this after he was suspected of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
Detectives conducted several interviews including with McElhaney who allegedly admitted to the crime. According to the Butte County Sheriff's Office, McElhaney was arrested for two felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor.

The Chico Police Department's School Resource Unit says any school aged youth in Chico that turns in a vape device to any School Resource Officer will receive coupons for free items at local businesses, no questions asked and no discipline as a result of turning in the devices. .

According to the Chico Police Department, certain restrictions may apply and there's a limited quantity of coupons.

24-year-old John Dudley Pilgram received five years in State Prison and was ordered to pay more than $27,000 in restitution to the victim.

The incident happened on July 10th when Pilgram stole a truck from a Gridley Auto Body Shop. The owner of the truck tried to stop him, but was dragged as he hung on to the door and the inside of the truck. The owner ended up getting injured when he fell to the pavement as Pilgram accelerated. According to the Butte County District Attorney's Office, the victim was airlifted to the hospital for significant injuries. Pilgram took the truck to Yuba City, where he admitted he intended to sell it to buy heroin.

Officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of the Esplanade and East Lassen Avenue before 2 Saturday morning. A K-9, named Aron, was deployed and reportedly detected narcotics. Officers allegedly found Methamphetamine in the vehicle and on the driver, identified as 37-year-old Ricardo Castrejon. He was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and for drug paraphernalia.

Police say K-9 Aron was rewarded for his hard work with an extra scoop of dog food.

Officers arrived to a business on Myers Street in south Chico around 10:30 Saturday morning where they found an Hispanic man who had been stabbed nearby on Valine Lane near Comanche Creek. During the search a suspect, identified as Christian Roberts was found and arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. During the investigation officers contacted Janelle Pineda who was said to be a witness. During questioning she reportedly became combative and allegedly reached for a knife. According to the Chico Police Department Pineda was arrested, after struggling with officers, for resisting arrest and for being in possession of methamphetamine.

Officers arrived to the area of Cohasset Road and the Esplanade around 5:30 Sunday evening where they found a 64-year-old man suffering from major, but non-life threatening injuries. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. During the investigation officers learned that the pedestrian was believed to be outside of the crosswalk at the time of the collision. Police say one driver, traveling northbound, hit an item that belonged to the pedestrian. A 2nd driver, also traveling northbound, reportedly struck the victim. According to Chico Police, one of those drivers, 63-year-old Karen Bumgarner was allegedly found to be under the influence of alcohol and was placed under arrest.

Diminished intensity of fire behavior has allow crews to make headway on the Ranch Fire in Tehama County. 
The blaze has burned 2,534 acres and is 45% contained. 
According to Cal Fire, crews continue to mop up and construct containment lines. 

A traffic stop leads to 3 arrests and concealed weapons for Butte Sheriffs. The incident happened early Wednesday morning when Deputies on patrol stopped a GMC Yukon. A K9 smelled narcotics and a search yielded a firearm and several large duffel bags that were empty plus more than $164,000 in currency. According to the Chico Police Department, three men, identified as 47-year-old Tan Tran of Caledonia, Wisconsin, 55-year-old Hershell Chambers of Conyers, Georgia, and 31-year-old Miguel Aponte of Los Angeles were arrested and charged with possession of a concealed firearm, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of U.S. currency.

Officers conducted an enforcement stop in the area of the Esplanade and 7th Avenue in Chico before 1:30 am. Officers contacted the driver, 43-year-old David Sumahit of Orland and determined that he was on Post Release Community Supervision and the subject of an active felony warrant.

Officers reportedly found a loaded sawed-off shotgun, a switchblade, and pepper spray. According to Chico Police, Sumahit was arrested for a variety of felony weapon charges and the active felony warrant.

A collision on Highway 70 in Palermo leaves one man dead this morning. CHP reported that a woman from Oroville was driving south on Highway 70 between Ophir and Palermo roads in Ford Fusion before 4 am when they say she struck a man walking in the road. CHP officers say the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, he is being described as a middle-aged African American man. The driver was treated for minor injuries from broken glass. The CHP says they are attempting to determine why the man was walking in the roadway.

The Butte County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday the arrest of 29-year-old Brenda Rose Asbury for elder abuse, embezzlement and grand theft. She's charged with taking more than 63,000 dollars from a 75 year old Camp Fire survivor. She'll be arraigned on the charges Thursday, November 7th.

Megan Dahle wins the District 1 State Assembly special election. The California Secretary of State's website lists Republican Megan Dahle with more than 57 percent of the vote topping Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt who received 42 percent of the vote. Megan's husband Brian Dahle left that assembly seat vacant after winning a State Senate seat. District 1 stretches from suburban Sacramento to the state's northeastern corner including portions of Butte and Shasta counties.

The CHP reported a multiple vehicle collision on southbound Highway 99 just north of the Skyway off ramp just before 8 this morning. A Nissan Altima collided with a Toyota. One or two other unknown vehicles were also caught up into the crash. Minor injuries are being reported. At last report the CHP is saying southbound traffic is at a complete stop from East 1st Avenue.

Chico Police make an arrested after a hit and run incident. A woman had been walking her dog on Petersen Memorial Drive after 2 Monday afternoon when she was reportedly struck and knocked to the ground by a passing vehicle. The pedestrian was able to provide a description of the vehicle and the driver. The victim was treated at the scene for her injuries. According to Chico Police, officers found and stopped the suspected vehicle driven by 30-year-old Brian Dinsmore of Paradise who was arrested for felony hit and run and D-U-I.

The meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 PM will be at the Spring Valley School on Pentz Road in Oroville. Both Paradise and the county recently passed ordinances calling for the removal of hazardous trees from the Camp Fire that could fall into public roadways. Property Owners can have their trees removed at no out of pocket cost by enrolling in the Government Tree Program but it requires a right of entry form. More information will be at the meeting. 

Members of the Butte County Sheriff's Office will be wearing newly designed badges to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Camp Fire. The badges feature a center seal depicting the Honey Run Covered Bridge which was destroyed during the fire. The seal also includes the phrases "Camp Fire 2018" and "Butte Strong", which the sheriff's office says signifies our resiliency in the aftermath of the disaster. Sheriff's office members are said to have collaborated on the design of the badge and they are authorized to wear the badges for one year. According to a Butte County Sheriff's Office press release, the badges are to be worn the month of November in subsequent years.