Ex-candidate arrested

Shooting suspect Glenn Champ placed fifth in the June gubernatorial primary.

SACRAMENTO — A candidate who finished fifth in the June primary race for governor was arrested Friday as a suspect in a Fresno County shooting that left one man wounded and a horse dead.

Fresno County Sheriff ’s Department Lt. John Golden said Tye “Glenn” Champ was arrested in neighboring Tulare County a day after the shooting occurred. A Sheriff ’s Department statement said the shooting apparently resulted from a dispute between neighbors over improvements being made to a private road.

“According to witness statements, Mr. Champ confronted the 40-year-old adult victim and his juvenile son and then shot the adult with a small black pistol,” the statement said. “As the victim and son f led, Mr. Champ allegedly fired multiple additional shots, striking and killing a horse.”

The unidentified victim underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to the stomach, and is expected to survive, Golden said.

Champ faces possible charges of attempted murder, felony child endangerment and animal cruelty.

A Republican, Champ placed fifth in a group of 15 candidates for governor, a fairly strong showing despite media reports that he is a registered sex offender who spent more than a decade in state prison. He was convicted of crimes including voluntary manslaughter and assault with intent to commit rape.

The Times reported in March that Champ pleaded guilty in 1992 to carrying a concealed firearm. A year later, he was convicted of two counts of assault with intent to commit rape and was placed on the state’s sex-offender registry.

In 1998, he accepted a plea deal on a charge of loitering to solicit a prostitute. Months later, he entered a no contest plea to voluntary manslaughter after hitting a man with his vehicle. That charge led to a sentence of 12 years in state prison, according to court records.

“In my life, I’ve been held accountable because of my stupidity,” Champ said at the GOP’s state convention in March.

He told The Times that month that the assault case “was just for picking up some underage prostitutes,” and resulted in a 90-day jail sentence. He said he had turned his life around.

“I found the Lord when I got arrested for picking up the prostitutes,” he said.