Trees and Land Use News

Shrubbery dispute leads Anaheim woman, 65, to shoot neighbor, police say

By Dave Mckibben, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 11:11 AM PDT, October 1, 2007

A landscaping dispute on a quiet Anaheim Hills street turned violent Sunday afternoon when a 65-year-old woman shot her neighbor in the shoulder and then barricaded herself in her house before surrendering, authorities said. Police said the argument began about 3 p.m. when Anita Spriggs apparently started trimming the hedges of a fence she shared with her next-door neighbor, 64-year-old Gary Hall.
"Spriggs then grabbed a handgun and shot the victim in the shoulder," said Sgt. Rick Martinez of the Anaheim Police Department. "We're not sure where she got the gun."
"Neighborhood disputes are not unusual," Martinez said. "But for it to elevate to this, especially on a quiet Sunday afternoon in a quiet neighborhood, is rare."Hall was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana with non-life-threatening injuries. Raylene Hall, his wife, said Sunday's altercation was not the first her husband has had with Spriggs. "This has happened many, many times before," she said.Raylene Hall said this morning that her husband is still in the hospital.
"The bullet went through his shoulder and shattered it," she said. After the shooting, Spriggs went back into her house. About a dozen officers blocked off the street and evacuated surrounding neighbors on East Greensboro Lane. Over the next 90 minutes, police tried to persuade Spriggs to come out with a bullhorn and by phone. She surrendered just before a SWAT team arrived.
Spriggs was booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder.dave.mckibben@latimes.com