DA files murder charge in Alderpoint shooting

From the Eureka Reporter: The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office charged James Franklin Harrison, 54, with murder Friday. The charge stems from the shooting of Larry Ray Wellman, 57, on Oct. 14 in Alderpoint.

Wellman was shot multiple times after an altercation with Harrison, according to a news release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Ten days later, Wellman died at a Redding hospital.

Harrison has been in custody at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility since Tuesday on unrelated misdemeanor warrants. He will answer to the charges at an arraignment scheduled for Wednesday, the release stated.

TS Man involved in October shooting charged with homicide

Background:

ER 10/15/2007 Injured men sent to hospital
A man was found shot and another man was found severely beaten in Alderpoint on Sunday.

Shortly after 4:30 Sunday morning, sheriff’s deputies were sent to investigate a report of a gunshot victim on Steelhead Road in Alderpoint, according to a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office news release....

ER 10/18/2007 Man shot in Alderpoint identified, in critical condition
A man shot early Sunday in the Alderpoint area remained in critical condition Wednesday in a Redding hospital — but investigators said they have figured out who he is.

A news release issued Wednesday by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said the man, previously identified only as “Tosh,” has been positively identified, but his name was being withheld until family members were informed of his condition....

ER 10/22/2007 Man shot in Alderpoint dies
If charges are filed in the Oct. 14 Alderpoint shooting case, they got a lot more serious late Wednesday night after the man shot four times with a .22-caliber rifle died from his injuries.

Larry Ray Wellman, 57, was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital in Redding at 11:30 p.m., said Humboldt County Coroner Frank Jäger, who dispatched Deputy Coroner Charles Comer Thursday to pick up the body and take it to Sonoma County, where an autopsy was scheduled today.

A news release issued Thursday by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office alleged Wellman was shot by 54-year-old James Franklin Harrison, who was reportedly assaulted several times by Wellman in the hours leading up to the shooting.

TS 10/23/2007 Names released in Alderpoint shooting
The name of the shooting victim in an Alderpoint altercation earlier this month and the alleged shooter were released Monday by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department....

ER 10/26/2007 Alderpoint shooter identified
Larry Ray Wellman, 57, was shot multiple times by James Franklin Harrison, 54, after Wellman repeatedly assaulted Harrison, stated a news release issued by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office... “Witnesses stated that during the night, Larry Wellman assaulted James Harrison several times,” the release stated. “At about 4:30 a.m. on Oct. 14, Harrison shot Wellman four times with a .22-caliber rifle.”

Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene and found Wellman, with multiple gunshot wounds, lying on the ground outside the residence.

Some time later, investigators discovered Harrison lying under bushes away from the residence. A news release issued Oct. 15 stated he had sustained injuries “consistent with a severe beating.”... “It’s going to be up to the DA’s Office to determine if a crime has been committed,” Godsey said, “and if so, what that crime is and who committed it.”...

TS 10/26/2007 Man dies week after Alderpoint shooting
The man shot multiple times after fighting with another man near Alderpoint has died, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department said Thursday. Larry Ray Wellman, who was shot during an altercation on Oct.14...