Mistrial declared in Tye Champ Jr. shooting trial

A jury said Tuesday it wasn’t sure whether former California gubernatorial candidate Tye Glenn Champ Jr. tried to kill a Prather man last year, but jurors were sure he didn’t kill a horse.

Champ, 49, and his lawyer, Eric Schweitzer, breathed sighs of relief when the mistrial was announced in Fresno County Superior Court.

During the trial, Champ testified that he shot 41-year-old John Harrison Price III in the stomach after Price attacked him with a knife.

On the witness stand, Champ admitted he also shot toward Price’s horse paddock, but denied killing a horse called Gypsy.

After two weeks of testimony and nearly two days of deliberations, a jury said it was deadlocked 9-3 on charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the shooting of Price outside his home in August 2014. To reach a verdict, the jury must be unanimous.

The jury was unanimous in finding Champ guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, a felony, and guilty of misdemeanor vandalism for slashing the tires of an ATV that belonged to Price’s teenage son.

Jurors found him not guilty of a felony charge of animal cruelty in connection with Gypsy’s death. That’s because during the trial, Schweitzer told the jury that sheriff’s deputies never did a necropsy on the horse and that there was no evidence of the animal being shot.

In addition, veterinarian Michael Stabbe, who has done 2,000 to 3,000 necropsies, testified that Gypsy had been dead 18 to 24 hours before Price was shot.

The jury of six men and six women will return Wednesday for a second phase of the trial, which will determine whether Champ has prior convictions for manslaughter and assault with the intent to commit rape.

During the trial, Champ admitted to the manslaughter conviction in 1998. He has not admitted to the assault with intent to commit rape charge in 1993. If the prior convictions are true, it could add prison time to Champ’s sentence.

Champ has been in the Fresno County Jail since his arrest on Aug. 8, 2014.

In his bid for governor in the June 2014 election, he received 76,066 votes, which was 1.8 percent of the statewide tally.

His trial gave a glimpse into life in the foothills east of Fresno, where residents are armed and protective of their property rights.

In defending Champ, Schweitzer told the jury that though Champ is a convicted felon, he still has a right to protect himself.

Schweitzer also told the jury that Price is “a turbulent, violent guy” who doesn’t get along with his neighbors.

Court records say Price got into a civil dispute with one of his neighbors in 2013 regarding two easements on his property. The neighbor told a judge that Price tried to run his wife and in-laws off the driveway and had threatened to kill him and his family, court records say. Price also threw rocks at the neighbor’s car and formed his fingers into a gun and threatened the neighbor, the court documents say.

Both sides agree that on the afternoon of Aug. 7, 2014, Price, his wife and a friend were unloading a truckload of horse feed, while Champ and a crew were doing a paving project on one of the easements on Price’s property in Prather.

What happened next is in dispute.

Price testified he needed an empty barrel, so he sent his 13-year-old son to fetch one. Getting on his ATV, the son drove toward the paving project. There, he encountered Champ.

“Don’t cross the road until the improvements are done,” Champ told the boy, according to prosecutor Dennis Verzosa. The boy complied, finding another route, the prosecutor said.

But when the boy came back a second time, an irritated Champ stopped him and scolded him. Champ pulled out a folding knife and stabbed two tires of the ATV, Verzosa said. He then told the boy to tell his dad: “Let’s see how mountain men do it.”

Price, his wife and friend quickly confronted Champ. Words were exchanged before Champ pulled a black semi-automatic pistol from his pocket and shot Price in the abdomen, Verzosa told the jury. Champ also fired several rounds toward a horse pen before leaving the scene, the prosecutor said. He was arrested the next day in Tulare County without incident.

Schweitzer argued that Champ didn’t want to shoot Price, but “it was necessary under the circumstances.” He contended Price slashed Champ’s sleeve with a knife and that Champ shot Price once to stop the threat.

Schweitzer accused Price of purposely sending his son to ruin the paving project.

On the witness stand, Price admitted he had a razor knife on him, but told the jury that he had his hands in the air and was backing away when Champ shot him.

After shooting Price, Champ fled the scene. Instead of calling 911, he called another client to start another work project, Verzosa told the jury. Champ also declined to tell the jury who gave him the gun.

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Mistrial declared in Tye Champ Jr. shooting trial."