Nye County Sheriff’s deputies arrested the man they suspect fired shots into an occupied home on Friday.
Paul Allen Applegate, 21, of Pahrump was taken into custody on Monday and faces preliminary charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, along with discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling.
He remains in custody on a $135,000 cash bail or $265,000 bond.
According the arrest report, deputies were dispatched to a report of shots fired at a residence just before 8 p.m. on New Year’s Day.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered several bullet holes in the front wall and window of the victim’s residence, with some rounds entering near where the residents were seated at the time.
Bullets recovered from the scene appeared to be from a .38 caliber firearm, deputies said.
During their investigation, deputies spoke to residents in the neighborhood, who all reported hearing two separate series of several shots fired, roughly two minutes apart.
Additionally, according to police, several residents reported the victims’ dog killed another woman’s dog in Nov. 2014 and the woman was still upset about it.
Detectives eventually interviewed Applegate and his mother, the woman who lost her dog more than a year prior.
According to detectives, the pair lived two houses from the victim’s home.
In the wake of their investigation, detectives learned the mother did in fact own a .38 caliber handgun, which was unaccounted for.
Several .38 caliber bullets and two spent shells were located in and around the property.
Later in the investigation, Applegate did confess to the shooting in retaliation for the dog attack.
“He stated that he stood outside the victim’s house and shot several rounds in the air and then hid in some bushes,” the arrest report stated. “Applegate stated that he didn’t feel satisfied, so he reloaded the gun and fired several more shots into the house. He expressed a desire to kill the residents for the anguish his mother suffered over the loss of her Pomeranian.”
Applegate was transported to the Nye County Detention Center where he is scheduled for a court appearance on Jan. 12.
Detectives are following up on several leads in the case.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Nye County Sheriff’s Office at 775’751’7000 or Detective Tippetts at NCSO_Detectives@co.nye.nv.us.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com.