$1.25
your homegrown newspaper February 26, 2025
Vol. 21, No. 24
Man who shot at officer charged charged with killing girlfriend News from Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Chamber awards pg. 5
History grant pg. 7
State swimmers pg. 15
POLSON — The man who was arrested for shooting at a Polson Police Officer on February 14, 49-year-old, Cameron Francis of Gridley, California, has been charged with deliberate homicide. Following the attempted homicide of the officer, Francis’s girlfriend, 48-year-old, Kimberly Goodson was found deceased in her home in Polson. An autopsy performed at the State Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that Goodson had been shot. Evidence gathered indicates that Francis killed Goodson shortly before fleeing the home and traveling northbound on Hwy 93 where Polson Police Officer Michael Wharton encountered him and attempted to stop him because he had no taillights. Wharton came under fire as he radioed his status after the vehicle pulled over just north of Rocky Point Road. According to court documents, the driver leaned out of his window and fired approximately 20 shots at the officer’s vehicle and then 7 more as he drove away. Wharton attempted to pursue, but his vehicle overheated and became inoperable. About 30 minutes later a citizen reported a man acting
Cameron Francis, right, is being held in the Lake County Jail, above, on deliberate and attempted homicide charges. Bond has been set at $5 million.
odd in the Elmo area. Responding officers located the vehicle Wharton had attempted to stop and a set of footprints in the snow that led to a man lying face down, surrendering. He allegedly told officers that the vehicle was registered to his girlfriend who he’d been staying with for a few weeks and “you’ll figure it all out from here.” While being processed for gunshot residue at the Lake County Jail, he also allegedly stated he had shot a few people a few times before. A 5.56 NATO military style
rifle with a 60-round barrel drum magazine, red dot sight and no serial number was located in vehicle. A large plastic tub containing hundreds of rounds of armor piercing ammunition was also discovered in the vehicle. After the arrest made local news, Kimberly Goodson’s son contacted law enforcement on Feb. 16 to tell officers he was concerned about his mother’s welfare. He said this his mother
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was in an abusive relationship with Cameron Francis and that he had not heard from her since Feb. 14. Upon conducting a welfare check, Goodson was found deceased. Officers noted signs of a struggle and large amounts of the same type of ammunition see page 2