A Northern California man is dead after attempting to keep his pickup from being stolen early Monday in Magalia, a town 90 miles north of Sacramento in Butte County. The suspect, a minor, has been booked into juvenile hall on manslaughter charges, officials said.
Robert Etta, 50, apparently jumped into the back of his pickup as the thief tried to steal the vehicle near Crescent Drive around 2 a.m. in the unincorporated community, the Butte County sheriff said in a news release. Magalia, which was established after the Gold Rush and extensively damaged in the 2018 Camp Fire, has a population of 9,245.
