Update: DA expected to file charges today in fatal pot robbery case

 Update: Nevada County District Attorney Cliff Newell is expected today to file final charges in this case.

A North San Juan man has been booked on a murder charge after an Elk Grove man died as a result of a traffic accident that occurred as he was fleeing the scene of an armed invasion of a home where marijuana was allegedly stolen by two men dressed as police officers, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department.

 Christopher T. Teachout, 32, has been booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility on the charges of murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

 The two men who allegedly robbed a North San Juan home are Timothy Daniel Fitzpatrick, 43 of Elk Grove and Terry A. McLeod, 51, of Sacramento.

 Fitzpatrick died at the scene of the crash. McLeod, who was a passenger in the vehicle, has been charged with murder, strong arm robbery, burglary, criminal conspiracy and false imprisonment.

The sheriff’s department account of the home invasion, subsequent car chase and fatal crash follows. He is also being held in the Wayne Brown Correctional Center.

 Jan. 4, 2010 - At approximately10:08 am, on the morning of 1/2/10, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center received a 911 call regarding a home invasion robbery that had just occurred at a residence located within the 12000 block of Tobacco Road which is located in the North San Juan area of Nevada County.

 Apparently, 2 males wearing ski masks and black police type uniforms entered the victims’ residence displaying weapons and indicating they were members of the Narcotics Task Force.  Victims present in the residence at the time of the robbery included 3 adult males and one female (all between 25-34 years of age). The suspects tied up the victims by using metal handcuffs and plastic zip ties. The suspects then took from the victims their cell phones and identifications, along with computer equipment and one camera. The suspects then fled the scene in a white Ford F250 pickup truck.

 One of the male victims was able to have his zip tied hands freed and gave pursuit of the suspects in his red pickup truck. The suspects fled on Oak Tree Road to Highway 49 and proceeded southbound being pursued by the victim in his vehicle. Ultimately, the suspect vehicle lost control and struck a tree along the roadside near the intersection of Highway 49 and Sauer Lane. The driver of the suspect vehicle was determined dead at the scene, and the passenger was life-flighted by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Hospital due to apparent head injuries.

 Early indications show the victim made several attempts to ram the suspects’ vehicle, and that sometime during this pursuit the suspects fired several rounds from their weapons. At the accident scene a shotgun and one handgun were found in or near the vehicle. Additionally, a third handgun was located near the road way several hundred feet from the sight of the accident. Two large plastic bags were found at the accident scene which contained a large quantity of pre-packaged marijuana.