Shooting outside Clovis dispensary investigated

CLOVIS — A Wednesday afternoon shooting in Clovis marked the third time this year a Fresno County pot dispensary has been the scene of a crime.

Fresno County sheriff’s investigators are currently piecing together the details regarding a car-to-car shooting that took place in front of the Buds For Life marijuana dispensary, located on the 3700 block of North Clovis Avenue and near the intersection of East Garland Avenue in the city of Clovis. The crime was first reported shortly before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Those involved with the shooting had already fled the scene once deputies arrived.

According to sheriff’s spokesman Chris Curtice, witnesses informed authorities that there were two black males inside a Chevy Camaro that stopped during heavy traffic. A second vehicle that’s been described as a two-door 1990s model burgundy-colored compact pulled up next to the Camaro. That car also had two black male occupants.

“The driver then produced a small caliber handgun and fired several shots at the occupants of the Camaro,” Curtice said. “Both vehicles then fled the area northbound on Clovis Avenue. We don‘t know if they knew each other, or if there was an argument prior to the shooting.”

Curtice added that there was no information on whether or not the occupants inside the Camaro were also armed, saying the driver of the burgundy vehicle was the only known suspect who pulled out a handgun. It is also not known if anyone was hit by the gunfire.

The Buds For Life business now becomes the second pot dispensary in 2011 to become the scene of a crime in the Fresno-Clovis area. The Central Valley Collective dispensary was the scene of two attempted break-ins in the months of February and March of this year in West Fresno.