CONTACT US:
(530) 725-0925
(888) 706-7398
FAX 303-1528

P.O. Box 1030
Burney, CA 96013
EMAIL US

THE NEWS FAMILY:

Publisher:
Craig Harrington
Email Craig
Manager:
Katie Harrington
Email Katie

OUR POLICY
All letters to the editor must bear the writer's name, hometown and telephone number or they will not be printed. At a writer's request, we will print the letter unsigned in the newspaper, although we discourage this. We welcome letters from
our readers but none can be acknowledged or returned. Short letters are urged. We do reserve the right to edit letters for space. Letters should be addressed to The Intermountain News, P.O. Box 1030, Burney, CA 96013 or e-mail by Clicking Here. Opinions expressed by the authors are strictly their own.

ABOUT THE NEWS
The Intermountain News is published every Wednesday morning for the communities of Burney, Fall River Mills, McArthur, Round Mountain, Big Bend, Montgomery Creek, Johnson Park, Old Station, Hat Creek, Glenburn, Cassel,
Nubieber, Bieber, Lookout, Adin, Dana, Little Valley, Pittville, Cayton Valley, and Pondosa. The newspaper is published by Cright Incorporated, 37095 Main St., Suite C, P.O. Box 1030, Burney, California 96013. Craig Harrington, president and publisher. This newspaper is judged a newspaper of general circulation under court decree #24204, filed April 27, 1959, and can accept legal advertising. USPS No. 266-560. Second class postage paid at Burney, California 96013.

US Bank Shoot-out from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

Armed robbery gunman Gregorio Enrique Estrada was shot once in the chest by a SWAT team law enforcement officer and died Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 15, 2009. A three-hour standoff began shortly after 12:14 p.m. when Estrada entered the US Bank in Burney, California, with three bank employees inside and shot two customers.

SWAT Enters Bank from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

The News has obtained additional video from the US Bank surveillance cameras that shows Special Weapons and Tactics teams entering the bank following the fatal shooting of gunman Gregorio Enrique Estrada. Also obtained was radio communication among law enforcement. The first minute of audio is just one example of multiple incorrect bits of information given to law enforcement by persons who claimed they were eye witnesses.

Bank Video from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

Video from inside US Bank taken on Dec. 15, 2009, was released by Shasta County District Attorney Gerald C. Benito before a crowd of 35 people attending a briefing in Burney Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. The video shows gunman Gregorio Enrique Estrada, 46, entering the bank and shooting bank customers Tim Kersten, 53, of Burney and Gloria Brown, 68, of Cassel.

Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Jason Gassaway was an America’s Most Wanted All-Star finalist. Out of more than 1,100 nominations from all across the country, Sgt. Gassaway was chosen as one of the eight finalists. From April 15 through May 3, viewers throughout America had the opportunity to cast votes for their favorite 2010 AMW All-Star finalist by logging onto the America’s Most Wanted website.

In Their Own Words from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

For the first time since an armed gunman walked into the Burney branch of US Bank Dec. 15, 2009 and shot two customers, the four bank employees who were held hostage for three hours together shared their experience of that day's ordeal. Seated at the table are, from left, loan officer Shari Mazzini, assistant manager Charlene Sickler, teller Jill Daugherty, and manager Lisa Wyrick. The four met at Lisa's home with News publisher Craig Harrington and reporter Bill Campbell on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010.

Kersten Interview from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

An interview with Tim Kersten was broadcast on CBS Channel 12 and sister station NBC Channel 24 Jan. 1, 2010. Viewers of both stations voted the fatal December Shasta County bank robberies as the top local news story for 2009, according to the stations' web poll. The story is by reporter Rick Carhart.

News Reader Photos from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

These photographs were taken and submitted to The News by Debbie Crone of Burney

News Reader Photos from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

These photographs were taken and submitted to The News by Bruce Jamieson of Cassel

SWAT Shooters ID'd from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

The two Shasta County sheriff's Special Weapons and Tactics team members who shot and killed gunman Gregorio Estrada have been identified and are shown in video above. Det. Troy Clegg, left, and deputy Jason Gassaway make their way across Main Street, heading toward the south side of US Bank. The two fired a total of seven shots with one of those bullets killing Estrada. Since both men were firing the same type of weapon it isn't known which one fired the fatal shot, said Lt. Scott Mayberry of the Redding Police Department. RPD is the law enforcement agency conducting the officer shooting investigation. Gassaway regularly works in the City of Shasta Lake and was a deputy in eastern Shasta County from 2002-05. CLICK HERE to read more

Bank Rally from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

Some 350 people turned out for the Dec. 21, 2009, Take Back the Bank rally in front of US Bank and to welcome back the four employees held inside during the Dec. 15 shoot-out between lone gunman Gregorio Enrique Estrada and law enforcement. Renee Angel of Burney organized the event that included comments from the Rev. Frank Wilkins, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko and Evelyn Jacobs, US Bank Northern California regional president.

Take Back the Bank Rally

Some 350 people turned out for Monday's Take Back the Bank rally in front of US Bank and to welcome back the four employees held inside during the Dec. 15 shoot-out between lone gunman Gregorio Enrique Estrada and law enforcement. Inside the bank were, top photo from left, Shari Mazzini, Jill Daugherty, bank manager Lisa Wyrick and Charlene Sickler. Wyrick locked herself inside an ATM room and was able to relay information to law enforcement during the standoff. Mazzini was able to hide undetected beneath a desk while Sickler and Daugherty were behind the tellers counter. Daugherty was assisting dentist Timothy Kersten when he was shot in the back of the neck and was grazed by a bullet. He also returned to the bank Monday and is shown in the middle photo above. More will appear in this week's issue of The News. Photos above by Katie and Craig Harrington

2 More Shots Fired from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

Craig and Katie Harrington of The Intermountain News were crouched near a California Highway Patrol vehicle listening to a police radio in order to obtain the latest information on the Dec. 15 armed robbery standoff. A video camera was rolling at the time but pointed towards the ground. Shots aimed towards the Alpine Drive-In and fired by gunman Gregorio Enrique Estrada can be heard overhead. The photographs accompanying the audio were taken by Katie.

Bank Customer Shot from The Intermountain News on Vimeo.

Gregorio Enrique Estrada, 46, entered the US Bank in Burney, California, shortly after noon, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009, walked up behind dentist Timothy Kersten, 53, of Burney as he spoke with a bank teller and shot Kersten in the back of the head with a 9mm pistol. The bullet went through Kersten's neck, along his jaw and exited near his left ear, said Lt. Scott Mayberry of the Redding Police Department. Bank surveillance video shows the gunman ordering a teller to take Kersten to the bank's door and push him out, Mayberry said. A series of still photographs by The Intermountain News shows Kersten leaving the bank and walking to his car parked in front of the bank as he prepares to drive away. Driving east on Highway 299, he meets up with ambulance personnel a short distance later just east of Angelina's restaurant where video by The Intermountain News shows he gets out of his car and is placed in the ambulance.

Laptop Saved Him

Shasta County sheriff's Sgt. Marc St. Clair is shown in above photographs. Top photo shows him shortly after he was the first to arrive following report of a robbery in progress at US Bank Tuesday at 12:14 p.m. Middle photo taken Thursday shows where two of gunman Gregorio Enrique Estrada's shots entered St. Clair's patrol vehicle as he drove up to the front of the bank. One shattered the passenger side window. The second went through the windshield and struck the back of a laptop computer (shown in foreground of bottom photo), protecting the deputy from being hit.

Dead Gunman Identified

The Shasta County coroner's office released the name of the armed gunman killed Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009, in a shoot-out with law enforcement at the Burney branch of US Bank. Gregorio Enrique Estrada, 46, died from a single shot to the chest by the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. Estrada's residence was listed as Ilahee Lane in Chico. He had lived in Burney for about a year before moving to Chico in September 2008.The photograph here was taken August 2007 when Estrada was booked into Shasta County jail for allegedly being drunk in public. He was later released and no charges filed. Deputies said, other than the August 2007 incident, Estrada had no other run-ins with Shasta County law enforcement prior to Tuesday's shoot-out. CLICK HERE for most recent Coroner's report. CLICK HERE for PDF of sheriff's office news release. CLICK HERE for earlier Coroner's report.

The communities we serve

Burney, Fall River Mills, McArthur, Cassel, Hat Creek, Old Station, Bieber, Nubieber, Adin, Lookout, Pondosa, Little Valley, Round Mountain, Montgomery Creek, Dana, Big Bend, Johnson Park, Glenburn, Pittville, and Cayton Valley. Also providing news and information for surrounding areas of Alturas, Mt. Shasta, McCloud, Canby, Cedarville, Ft. Bidwell, Ravendale, Likely, Madeline, and the counties of Shasta, Lassen, Modoc, Trinity, Tehama, Butte, Glenn, Plumas and Siskiyou counties.

Google