Burney man facing numerous felony charges following incident at church

BURNEY – A man was arrested on Friday, March 04, after a member of the Word of Life Church in Burney, reported a suspicious subject armed with a knife in the church parking lot, according to Shasta County Sheriff’s Sergeant Quentin Johnston.

The citizen called 911 at about 10:40 a.m., and told SHASCOM emergency communications dispatchers that the male was acting bizarre and had a knife in his hands.

A United States Forest Service officer who was in the area overheard the call and responded to the location. Upon arrival, the officer made contact with the man, identified as Robert Waltz, 53, of Burney, in the parking lot of the church. Waltz was using a large drill bit to dig in the parking lot, according to Johnston.

Waltz admitted to the officer that he had a handgun concealed inside his coat. The officer located a .22 caliber handgun as well as several knifes concealed in Waltz’s clothing.

Deputies soon arrived at the church and assumed the investigation. Deputies conducted a records check that revealed Waltz was a convicted felon, prohibiting him from possessing firearms or ammunition. The records check also determined Waltz had three misdemeanor warrants for his arrest.

Deputies arrested Waltz for possession of the prohibited weapon and his warrants.

During a more thorough search of Waltz after his arrest, deputies located a small amount of methamphetamine in one of the man’s pockets according to Johnston.

Waltz was transported to Shasta County jail, where he was booked for being a felon in possession of a firearm, a felon in possession of ammunition, a felon with a concealed weapon, and armed while in possession of narcotics.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Shasta County Sheriff’s Department at (530) 245-6540. Callers can refer to incident file number 16-8032 and can remain anonymous.

 

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