Man suspected in Cottonwood shooting ruled not competent
Ashley Gardner|1 hour ago
KRCR 7R News
Ervin Keith Watts, 59, Cottonwood, was ruled not competent to continue with court proceedings Tuesday by a Tehama County judge.
Around 4:10 p.m. September 7, 2017, deputies were called to Tabitha Court in the Cottonwood area off Bowman Road. One man had been shot and there were reports of gun fire exchanged between two other men.
Dustin and John Mingarelli were both injured and taken to the hospital. The former suffered serious, traumatic injuries.
Deputies reported Watts had shot his two neighbors with a shotgun over a long-standing property line dispute.
Watts was found at his home and detained. Deputies were able to get a warrant to search his home, where they said they found a shotgun and ammunition.
Watts will be evaluated by two psychiatrists and will return to court on October 17 for a report on his competence.
It really bothers me that at the CORE, of many disputes, is a cut rate survey.
I mean, something like 20%.
Some cut rate shortcut work, and folks are dead.
I feel that some surveyors should take a more serious look at what they leave behind.
Nate
Seems like most all of my effort lately has been trying to resolve discrepancies between conflicting surveys much magnified by development being reliant on said conflicting locations.
I keep hearing about today's jr surveyors just being button pushers, however 99% of my resolution efforts go towards conflicts caused by retracement surveys from the 1950's through the 1970's and with deed splits from that same era.
Nate The Surveyor, post: 447489, member: 291 wrote: It really bothers me that at the CORE, of many disputes, is a cut rate survey.
I mean, something like 20%.
Some cut rate shortcut work, and folks are dead.
I feel that some surveyors should take a more serious look at what they leave behind.
Nate
If I remember correctly, Jeff Lucas stated at a Kentucky conference a few years ago that the two most common causes for murder in the nations are cheating on one's spouse and property line disputes.
N10,000, E7,000, Z100.00
PLS - IL, MO, AR, KS, MN, KY
Even after a survey there're people who don't believe the results, and arguments over the line continue.
Nate The Surveyor, post: 447489, member: 291 wrote: It really bothers me that at the CORE, of many disputes, is a cut rate survey.
That is possible but it's just as likely that there had been no survey at all. It was just an idea that got in his head. And if a really proper survey hadn't agreed with the voices in his head he would have refused to accept the results.
I'm concerned when asked to do a survey knowing that it's to settle a heated neighbor argument. The surveyor becomes just another enemy. And even with found monuments.
I remember one boundary, both the neighbor and my client were upset with me. I laughed and said " Well, If your both mad at me I must be right." They got quiet, realized that there really was no issue and we went on our way. Don't know if that would ever work again to diffuse a situation, but it did that time and I'm grateful.
Nate The Surveyor, post: 447489, member: 291 wrote: It really bothers me that at the CORE, of many disputes, is a cut rate survey.
I mean, something like 20%.
Cart before the horse, Nate? Unless this has been discussed before and I missed the thread, how do you know it's a "cut-rate" survey? Not knowing the details, I'd give the surveyor the benefit of a doubt. Sounds like one of the adjoiners is missing a few marbles.
When you find yourself dealing with an adjoiner who is a few fries and a coke short of happy meal, it will make no difference to them how good your survey is with all original corners found. With my luck after flagging them up the adjoiner just comes out after dark and digs them all up and moves them to where they want them to be. All I did was show them where and what to dig up.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
Williwaw, post: 447554, member: 7066 wrote: All I did was show them where and what to dig up.
Hope you have some hidden reference ties to be confident in replacing the wandering corners.
I've mentioned this before but I feel it can't be stressed enough:
Territorial boundaries are primal in nature. Encroachment (or perception thereof) upon someone's territory can be seen as aggression at a subconscious level. Encroachment upon a creature's personal space can (and often does) evoke a creature-like response. And it doesn't matter if it's a 95 year old widow with a walker, or a 25 year old drunk bubba-in-bibs.
Most folks nowadays spend their whole lives in a civilized setting. Most of us forgive the idiot in front of us in traffic that texting, or the hussy that cuts in front of us in line at the check-out counter. We're conditioned to rub elbows with each other in a public setting. But our home is our castle. And our castles have boundaries. I don't know one single human being that owns property that hasn't had the hair on their neck bristled when they find a trespasser. And with all unfamiliar emotions we deal with them in awkward ways. Someone treading in your domain triggers a primal defense response that can vary from mild irritation to wild "me or him" conflict. The root of the trouble is that when the boundaries are located somewhere other than where our few remaining Neanderthal genes think.
The difference between a mild-mannered pillar of the community and a stark-raving-mad murderer might only be a few feet of their yard.....As surveyors we not only need to be a mathematician, scientist, woodsman and archeologist...we also need a few hours of sociology and psychology. 😉