San Dimas : Burglary of Councilman

A 34-year-old San Dimas man has been charged with burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and receiving stolen property in connection with his alleged attempt two weeks ago to run over a San Dimas city councilman who tried to stop the man by firing warning shots.

Raymond Gordon Lewis, who authorities said was found in possession of saddles stolen from a neighbor of Councilman Sandy McHenry, remained in county jail Thursday in lieu of $25,000 bail.

On Sept. 18, McHenry spotted a man driving a pickup truck near his rural property while he was traveling in his own pickup truck on a backcountry dirt road shortly after noon, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said. The councilman pulled his truck into the vehicle’s path and got out to ask the man, later identified as Lewis, what he was doing on private property owned by McHenry’s neighbor.

But Lewis allegedly drove his truck toward McHenry in a threatening manner, according to police reports.

McHenry then pulled his Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver at Lewis, causing the man to veer off McHenry’s path and run his truck into a ravine, the councilman said.

Lewis then got out of the truck, McHenry said, and began to run. McHenry said he fired two shots to the side of Lewis, ordering him to stop, which Lewis did not. However, Lewis was caught about two hours later by a Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit.

The spokesman added that McHenry, who does not have a concealed weapon permit for his revolver, acted appropriately under the circumstances and had a right to handle the gun without a permit because the incident occurred on private property.