‘I’m fucking done with everything; I’m done with all the shit!"

Face & Mind of the Tea Party:

According to Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, Champ’s latest brush with the law came after he clashed with his neighbor’s son.

“Champ was angry at the 13-year-old and slashed the tires on the ATV that the child was riding,” Mims said. “The parents came to the scene and confronted Champ and that’s when the father was shot, then other witnesses — including the victim and the 13-year-old — ran away as more shots were being fired at them from Champ.”

Witness Richard Norman said he heard Champ exclaim, ”‘I’m (expletive) done with everything; I’m done with all the (expletive),’ and ended up pulling out a gun and shooting John in the stomach.”

According to Norman, Champ then began shooting indiscriminately as neighbors took cover. One bullet found a horse in a paddock, killing it.

Authorities say Champ then took off, only to be arrested twelve hours later by Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies at a traffic stop Friday morning.

Champ, who came in fifth in the [REPUBLICAN] gubernatorial primary in June with over 76,000 votes, is currently being held in Fresno County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, willful cruelty to a child, willful cruelty to an animal, and felon in possession of a gun.

And we add:

Champ campaigned in this year's California primary on a platform that he would clean up state government. He had a brief, scheduled appearance on the dais during the California Republican Party convention in March and attracted 2% of the total vote in June.

Champ is a "felon with an extensive criminal history that dates back to 1985," Mims said.

In 1998, Champ, who was working then as a garbage hauler, was arrested in the killing of a rival trash hauler in the Fresno County foothills. George Kozar, 48, of Tollhouse was run over by a pickup truck while he was on a collection route on Morgan Canyon Road, six miles south of Prather.

Champ was originally charged with murder but pleaded no contest to manslaughter. He served a term at Wasco State Prison.

In 1993, he was convicted of two counts of assault with intent to commit rape and was placed on the state's sex offender registry.

The weapons offenses involved two convictions of carrying a concealed weapon.