Chico man sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for 2019 shooting over marijuana dispute

OROVILLE, Calif. — A Chico man was sentenced Friday for the shooting and killing of his friend in 2019 over a marijuana dispute.

According to the Butte County District Attorney's Office, Dylan Andrew Glen Rice, 28, of Chico, was sentenced to 25 years to life for first-degree murder in a case arising from the killing of Jacob McArthur, who was 27 at the time of his death.

District Attorney Mike Ramsey said the case began in December of 2019 when Butte County Sheriff’s deputies found McArthur dead from multiple gunshots inside his rural residence on Craig Access Road east of Lake Oroville. For the next year and a half, sheriff’s detectives continued to gather evidence and Rice was arrested for the murder in July 2021.

Ramsey said detectives learned through the investigation that Rice, a friend of McArthur who had previously worked with him cultivating marijuana at the Craig Access Road property, felt he had been “short-changed” over his work. On the night of the murder, Rice had lurked outside McArthur’s home for some time before shooting through a living room window and hitting McArthur inside. Rice then stole a large quantity of marijuana from the house and fled.

At the sentencing, McArthur’s mother shared with the court what a wonderful son and person her Jacob was, and how Rice’s actions had robbed her family of that person. She also directly addressed Rice seated in the courtroom next to his attorney, pointing out how Rice had described the killing to others as “courageous.” She told Rice that his actions were, in fact, “cowardly and driven by greed.” Referencing that Rice had held himself out in the community as a “hippie,” who embraced peace and love, the mother told Rice that “a real hippie understands karma. You are a fraud.”

Ramsey said McArthur’s sister also gave a moving tribute to her lost brother and told the court how McArthur had wanted to one day become a father, and had talked about that dream since he was a little boy. She said Rice’s decision to murder her brother killed that dream.

Finally, MacArthur’s father addressed the court. He spoke of how proud the family had been of his boy’s growth as a man. He thanked the sheriff’s detectives for their tireless dedication to finding his son’s killer and bringing him to justice.

After the family was finished speaking, Ramsey said the judge imposed the sentence of 25 years to life and ordered Rice transported to state prison.