ANDERSON: Woman, 84, arrested after firing gun at couple and three children, 8-10

ANDERSON — An 84-year-old Anderson woman – angry over noise she said was being caused children riding off-road motorcycles – allegedly shot at a couple and their three children and was later arrested. The neighbor dispute happened on the 16000 block of Dot Lane, southeast of Saddle Trail and Laverne Lane in Anderson.

According to officials the argument that led to the shooting last Friday night was over the alleged suspect’s complaint that her neighbor’s children were making too much noise by riding their dirt bikes on a motocross track built on the victim’s large, semi-rural property.

After an investigation, officials arrested Betty Frances Sanders and she was booked at Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment. An online jail record search revealed she was released from custody after posting $50,000 bail.

Shasta County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area shortly before 7 p.m., after receiving a report of shots fired at a family. When they arrived, deputies located and interviewed several people who were directly involved in or witnessed the incident.

Angela Rollins, who lives on the small street with her husband and three children, ages 8 to 10, told deputies she called 911 after her elderly neighbor, later identified as Sanders, fired a gun at her family during an argument. According to both involved parties, the argument was over motorcycle-related noise, sheriff’s officials explained in a social media release after Sanders’ arrest.

Rollins explained she was standing on her property with her husband and that the couple was watching their three young children riding their motorcycles when Sanders and her husband approached a fence that separates the two properties. According to Rollins, Sanders and her husband were angry about noise caused by her children, who were riding their off-road motorcycles on the family’s small motocross track.

“An argument ensued and Sanders shot one round from a handgun toward Rollins and her family who were about 20 feet away,” officials explained.

Deputies contacted and interviewed Sanders at her home at which time they interviewed and then arrested her. Deputies located and seized a handgun Sanders reportedly used as evidence.

Officials did not specify if there had been previous noise-related complaints or other disturbances between the two families prior to the shooting.

There were no reported injuries related to the incident.

 

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Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.