Love Thy Neighbor, with Shotgun

An incident Wednesday afternoon that had all the hallmarks of trouble - gunfire, vehicle aggression, antagonistic neighbors - turned out being settled relatively benignly, according to Napa County Sheriff's Office.

"It wound up being an on-going dispute between residents of the property," said Sgt. Tracey Stuart of the NCSO.

There are several residences on the property in Napa County jurisdiction at Bella Oaks Lane and Hwy. 29, halfway between St. Helena and Yountville. There have apparently been disputes between the residents before, but when the renter came home to find the landlord firing a shotgun into the sky - apparently to scare away birds - he called police.

Before the authorities arrived, the landlord used his own vehicle to move the other party's car out of the way, pushing it with his bumper, apparently because he didn't like where it was parked. Minor damage resulted.

The parties ended up resolving the dispute between themselves, and there was no arrest and no charges filed.

"It sounded bad, but it ended up being more of an argument," said Capt. Stuart.