Dad dead, son booked
on suspicion of murder
Sac Bee excloo
NEVADA CITY 8/30/02 (YSN) - A Big Oak Valley father is dead and his son in custody for investigation of homicide in the wake of a family dispute that turned to gunplay, Nevada County authorities reported Friday.
Nevada County sheriff's deputies responding to an emergency call about 1 p.m. Thursday discovered Gene McFarland, 65, inside his residence in the 11900 block of Shephard Road, dead from a gunshot wound, investigators reported.
Also present in the house was McFarland's 32-year-old Frank Fire Thunder, who was also wounded by gunfire, said investigation supervisor Lt. David Baxley.
Fire Thunder, who had recently changed his name from McFarland, had made the distress call to the sheriff's dispatcher that brought officers to the rural home located a couple of miles south of Highway 20 and west of Penn Valley, Baxley said.
Attempts to revive McFarland failed and he was pronounced dead. Two handguns found at the scene were seized.
A nearby neighbor reported hearing a loud argument going on in the McFarland home, where both men lived, followed by multiple gunshots, investigators reported.
Fire Thunder was treated at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital for a minor wound to his side and then booked into the county jail where he is being held without bail on suspicion of homicide, Baxley said.
Preliminarily, Baxley described the situation as one of apparent "mutual combat."
"It was a family dispute kind of thing. We're still trying to piece together who started it. When we have, we'll turn it over to the district attorney," Baxley said.
on suspicion of murder
Sac Bee excloo
NEVADA CITY 8/30/02 (YSN) - A Big Oak Valley father is dead and his son in custody for investigation of homicide in the wake of a family dispute that turned to gunplay, Nevada County authorities reported Friday.
Nevada County sheriff's deputies responding to an emergency call about 1 p.m. Thursday discovered Gene McFarland, 65, inside his residence in the 11900 block of Shephard Road, dead from a gunshot wound, investigators reported.
Also present in the house was McFarland's 32-year-old Frank Fire Thunder, who was also wounded by gunfire, said investigation supervisor Lt. David Baxley.
Fire Thunder, who had recently changed his name from McFarland, had made the distress call to the sheriff's dispatcher that brought officers to the rural home located a couple of miles south of Highway 20 and west of Penn Valley, Baxley said.
Attempts to revive McFarland failed and he was pronounced dead. Two handguns found at the scene were seized.
A nearby neighbor reported hearing a loud argument going on in the McFarland home, where both men lived, followed by multiple gunshots, investigators reported.
Fire Thunder was treated at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital for a minor wound to his side and then booked into the county jail where he is being held without bail on suspicion of homicide, Baxley said.
Preliminarily, Baxley described the situation as one of apparent "mutual combat."
"It was a family dispute kind of thing. We're still trying to piece together who started it. When we have, we'll turn it over to the district attorney," Baxley said.
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