By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
Guns and alcohol – what could possibly go wrong?
Late Saturday night, Nov. 26, deputies responded to a report from a remote part of northwest Glenn County of a man threatening people with a shotgun.
Shortly after 10 p.m., deputies were dispatched to 3614 County Road 200, near the northern end of County Road 306. The reporting party, Brooke Marie Jennings, who lives at that address, said a man was threatening people with a shotgun and about eight people were trying to get him to come out of a vehicle in which he had taken refuge.
To complicate matters, a few minutes after making the call, the Jennings’ phone died. About five minutes later, the Glenn County Sheriff’s dispatcher reported that “calls to the reporting party are still going to voicemail.”
Deputies had trouble finding the address. One of them eventually said, “It’s going to be on north side of Newville road, just west [east?]of 306…. There’s two mailboxes outside. One of them is 3614…. It’s the first residence.”
Ten or 15 minutes after the initial call, Glenn County dispatch heard back from the reporting party. Jennings said the man in question is going to be parked by the barn on the property.
A couple of minutes later, deputies began arriving at the scene. A deputy said she had a visual on the vehicle at the barn, and there were two people at the vehicle.
The deputy said residents took the firearm from the person, later identified as Aaron James Sackett-Maxham, 22, of 13156 Round Valley Road, Paskenta, and she was going to give verbal commands to the people. A couple of minutes later, it was reported that the “subject is prone on the ground,” and a minute or so after that, one person was in custody.
Deputies on their way to the scene began reducing their response from Code 3 to Code 2. A little less than half an hour after the incident was reported, a sergeant arrived.
Roughly 40 minutes after the initial report of the incident, it was said that the Corning Police Department had “history” with Sackett-Maxham. When he was in high school, he allegedly had possession of a firearm on school grounds.
The dispatcher said Sackett-Maxham “has five rifles registered to his name.”
A deputy ran the serial numbers on three weapons: a Glock 19, a Winchester model 94, and a Derya Arms model VR-80. The Glock and Derya Arms “came back clear,” but there was some sort of “mix-up on records for the Winchester.”
During the investigation, it was learned Sackett-Maxham allegedly negligently discharged a firearm near several people after they attempted to prevent him from driving while intoxicated.
Deputies found the firearm used during the commission of the crime, in addition to an assault weapon with no serial number (a so-called ghost gun) with multiple high-capacity magazines.
In addition to Brooke Jennings, witnesses included Avery Nicholas Jennings, also of 3614 County Road 200; Derrick Eugene Hanaway of 864 I Street, Lincoln; Seanaigh Yrislolli Galia of 118 South Sonoma Street, Willows; Brittney Nicole Finch of 864 I Street, Lincoln; Ethan Emory Sims of 118 South Sonoma Street, Willows; Roger Thomas Carrillo of 13150 Bly Avenue, Corning; and Levi Alan Walkup of 1002 Benson Drive, Orland.
Sackett-Maxham was transported to the Glenn County Jail by the Glenn County Sheriff’s sergeant. He was booked on charges alleging possession of a high-capacity magazine (a misdemeanor), illegal possession of an assault weapon (a misdemeanor), owning a firearm without a serial number (a misdemeanor), and willful discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner (a felony).
His bail was set at $10,000.
The Glenn County Observer 