| KHQ |
| The homeowner at this Spokane residence told police she shot at two men attempting to steal her marijuana crop, hitting at least one of them. |
A Washington state woman who is a legal medical marijuana patient shot a man in the head Monday; she said the guy was trying to steal part of her backyard cannabis crop, according to Spokane police. His alleged accomplice is still at large, and possibly wounded as well.
Officers found the man about two hours later with a gunshot wound to his skull — but “for whatever reason he was walking and talking,” said Officer Jennifer DeRuwe, spokeswoman for the Spokane Police Department, reports Meghann M. Cuniff of The Spokesman-Review.
The man had a bullet lodged in the back of his head.
Police contacted the homeowner, who said two men were trying to steal marijuana plants from her back yard, and she shot at least one of them. She said the men fled in a truck, reports Blake Jensen at KHQ.
The man was taken to a hospital for treatment; his condition was not available and his name has not been released.
DeRuwe said a second man “may have been shot” but has not yet been located by police, and the first man will not identify him to investigators.
A neighbor alert police to the shooting on East Gordon Avenue at about 10:20 a.m., roughly 20 minutes after it happened, according to DuRuwe.
There have been no arrests. Officers claim they are still trying to sort out whether the homeowner was justified in shooting at the men, DeRuwe said.
The woman who was growing the marijuana did not call police after firing the shots, according to DeRuwe.
Detectives located “numerous marijuana plants” inside the home, as well as more growing in an outdoor garden.
Police said they are “investigating possible marijuana law violations.”
