Pleasant Hill police investigators say a licensed cannabis delivery man opened fire on two men trying to rob him in the middle of a local condominium complex Tuesday, mortally wounding one suspect but receiving life-threatening wounds during the exchange of gunfire.
Police said Peter Popovich, 63, of Pleasant Hill died in a local hospital soon after the shooting. One of the suspected robbers, identified as 21-year-old Trevon Davis of San Pablo, is also believed to have died at the same hospital.
Popovich reportedly drew his own licensed firearm during the incident, dropping the gun when he fell. Both he and Davis were hit multiple times during the exchange, Davis falling nearby with neighbors reporting a second man leaving the scene of the shooting in a vehicle.
Popovich possessed a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon which was issued by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, according to police. He lived not far from where he was shot.
Investigators characterized the case as an attempted robbery resulting in homicide. They determined that Popovich worked in the legal cannabis industry, working for a company selling packaging materials for the legal distribution and sales of cannabis.
Neither man was personally acquainted with the other, police said. Earlier in the day, Popovich had been delivering packaging materials to Bay Area cannabis distributors when investigators believe he was targeted for robbery by Davis and at least one other suspect while he was standing near his van parked on Twinbridge Circle.
Both of the suspects and Popovich were armed, police said, leading to the exchange of
gunfire.
Police gave no further information regarding the second suspected robber or the car neighbors reported seeing leaving the area after the shooting.
Guns guns guns. Yippee.
Is that officer picking up the gun?
It appears so.
O wow. That’s crazy.
Wasn’t the carjacking murder on Taylor Blvd last year related to a legal cannabis business? I’m starting to believe that the benefits of legalization were oversold.
Believe it had more to do with the jewelry the young man was wearing but he was in the business, yes. Pretty much anything that generates revenue is going to attract people who want what others have earned.
You know they’ve tried to tell us that marijuana is ‘just like having a glass of wine’…. but I’ve seen too many people get permanently stupid off the stuff and it has always attracted undesirable elements and crime. Go back to drinking wine, people!
We’ve seen more debilitating effects from overuse of alcohol but the cannabis industry has a reputation for generating large amounts of money and that, we believe, has created issues with people wanting a piece of the action.
It’s money that’s attracting the crime not the weed, it’s an all cash business. Blame your Fed Gov and your alcohol and pharm industries for the gun play and robberies. Do a quick look into why it was made illegal to start with and why it’s still illegal Federally and who has been benefiting from it since the beginning….
It might surprise you to learn that small inner city liquor stores that deal mostly in cash get robbed all the time.
Oh, so do banks with no drugs or alcohol on offer.
See the pattern?
It is not illegal for inner city liquor stores to put cash in the bank, whereas cannabis business’ are limited in the ability to bank because federally licensed banks cannot knowingly accept and do business with funds that come from federally illegal means. Cannabis is not legal federally.
Indeed, the pattern here is that bandits steal cash and are business model / product agnostic.
CDC says alcohol kills just under 200k Americans per year. If the grievance is the loss of human lives than alcohol is hundreds of thousands of time more lethal than cannabis.
Were all their shots accounted for?
We believe at least one went astray…
RIP & Blessings to Mr. Popovich and his loved ones.
Here a gun. There a gun. Everywhere a gun, gun.
America is number one!
Yes, the ability to protect yourself, because the police would rather not.
Firestone 11R
Well sadly Peter did not make it but thanks to him there is one less bad guy willing to use a gun on innocents in contra costa. He’s a hero in my mind, sucks he was out numbered by degenerates. You should feel good about that. Crime can only be stopped 1 sh bird at a time.
Everyone had a gun. Peter is dead. There is nothing in that outcome that makes me feel good.
This had nothing to do with cannabis, other than the industry has to deal in cash. Peter was a great father and very successful in the print industry. This was about the criminals our DAs refuse to prosecute. My assumption is after dropping off a print order and being paid in cash, someone at a dispensary tipped off their scumbag friends. You can thank Becton and Price for this.
I count multiple assumptions there which all add up to zero facts. We are left with just your political opinion.
Do printers working for/with the cannabis industry routinely carry their own firearms?
Anyone can apply for a CCW permit. A background check and some training is involved, applications were always rejected until a Supreme Court decision of two years ago.
Firestone 11R
Do we know how many shots each person fired / where they were hit? I’m glad to hear he took out one of the robbers. Thanks Peter.
We have no information on how many shots were fired, though neighbors reported hearing several. Police reported both men were hit multiple times and we know at least one round went astray and impacted a neighbor’s residence – with no resultant injury.
Terrible to see this happen here. Sympathies to the innocent man’s family.
Will there be a shooting report they release?
There should be and most likely it will be preserved until it is presented in court… big case for Pleasant Hill.