Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Intruder took shotgun away and assaulted homeowner

Flower grower armed against copper thieves

Sheriff’s deputies described Chuck Neil as a transient from Escondido.
Sheriff’s deputies described Chuck Neil as a transient from Escondido.

An intruder took a shotgun away from an Encinitas homeowner and then tried to kill him with it, according to an attorney who spoke in court yesterday, Wednesday, October 25.

Chuck Edward Neil, 43, pleaded not-guilty to assault and robbery and grand theft at his arraignment, but a private attorney for the victim’s family said Neil should be charged with attempted murder. Attorney Gregory Day spoke to the judge and asked for a criminal protective order for the family.

It was still dark last Saturday morning, about 5 a.m. on October 20, when Fred Weston saw an intruder on his one-acre property, according to a statement from the San Diego County Sheriff. Weston had recently installed a new surveillance system because of repeated thefts of copper wire from his property, the sheriff stated.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Fred Weston, 62, took his shotgun and went outside and found one intruder, who was in dark clothing, hiding in the bushes; the homeowner ordered the trespasser to march to the gate at the end of his property, according to the sheriff. But the trespasser grabbed the barrel of the shotgun and tried to take it; while the end of the barrel was pointed upward Weston fired one round, hoping it would scare away the stranger, the sheriff reported. However, the intruder was able to take the gun from Weston and smashed him in the face multiple times, breaking his nose and causing other damage, it is alleged.

The intruder began to choke the homeowner with the barrel of the shotgun across his throat, while Weston was on the ground, according to the Sheriff’s version.

Family attorney Gregory Day claimed that homeowner Weston was knocked unconcious, and the intruder chose to attempt murder on the helpless man, instead of taking that opportunity to flee.

Weston’s wife Lilibeth, 58, and his son Joseph, 18, saw the altercation on their surveillance system and got into the family truck; Mom drove the long driveway to the scene of the assault. The son was able to disable the stranger with a taser, and the family used a belt to hold him until deputies arrived. The sheriff’s statement declared: “Deputies found copper cable had been cut and was being collected nearby on the property.”

The Weston family has been growing flowers at their location in the 500 block of La Costa Avenue.

San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies described Neil as a transient from Escondido, 6 feet 2 inches tall and 170 pounds.

Public records show Neil’s arrest record in San Diego County began in January of 1999, when he was 23 years old; there are five cases listed.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Sheriff’s deputies described Chuck Neil as a transient from Escondido.
Sheriff’s deputies described Chuck Neil as a transient from Escondido.

An intruder took a shotgun away from an Encinitas homeowner and then tried to kill him with it, according to an attorney who spoke in court yesterday, Wednesday, October 25.

Chuck Edward Neil, 43, pleaded not-guilty to assault and robbery and grand theft at his arraignment, but a private attorney for the victim’s family said Neil should be charged with attempted murder. Attorney Gregory Day spoke to the judge and asked for a criminal protective order for the family.

It was still dark last Saturday morning, about 5 a.m. on October 20, when Fred Weston saw an intruder on his one-acre property, according to a statement from the San Diego County Sheriff. Weston had recently installed a new surveillance system because of repeated thefts of copper wire from his property, the sheriff stated.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Fred Weston, 62, took his shotgun and went outside and found one intruder, who was in dark clothing, hiding in the bushes; the homeowner ordered the trespasser to march to the gate at the end of his property, according to the sheriff. But the trespasser grabbed the barrel of the shotgun and tried to take it; while the end of the barrel was pointed upward Weston fired one round, hoping it would scare away the stranger, the sheriff reported. However, the intruder was able to take the gun from Weston and smashed him in the face multiple times, breaking his nose and causing other damage, it is alleged.

The intruder began to choke the homeowner with the barrel of the shotgun across his throat, while Weston was on the ground, according to the Sheriff’s version.

Family attorney Gregory Day claimed that homeowner Weston was knocked unconcious, and the intruder chose to attempt murder on the helpless man, instead of taking that opportunity to flee.

Weston’s wife Lilibeth, 58, and his son Joseph, 18, saw the altercation on their surveillance system and got into the family truck; Mom drove the long driveway to the scene of the assault. The son was able to disable the stranger with a taser, and the family used a belt to hold him until deputies arrived. The sheriff’s statement declared: “Deputies found copper cable had been cut and was being collected nearby on the property.”

The Weston family has been growing flowers at their location in the 500 block of La Costa Avenue.

San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies described Neil as a transient from Escondido, 6 feet 2 inches tall and 170 pounds.

Public records show Neil’s arrest record in San Diego County began in January of 1999, when he was 23 years old; there are five cases listed.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Top Websites To Buy Instagram Likes + Bonus Tip!

Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.