Michael Kourosh Sadeghi, 32, was arrested in Denver on Tuesday night for the murder of his 42-year-old neighbor Dustin Schmidt
A Denver man is accused of fatally shooting his neighbor in the back of the head after they got into a heated argument because he thought the victim was beating his dog.
Michael Kourosh Sadeghi, 32, was arrested on Tuesday night for the murder of his 42-year-old neighbor Dustin Schmidt.
Police were called to a home in the 4000 block of 106th Drive in Thornton, just north of Denver, at about 8pm following reports of gunfire.
They found the victim dead in his yard with at least five gunshot wounds.
The victim’s identity has not yet been officially released, but Schmidt’s fiancee Vicki Branaghan confirmed to the Denver Post that he had been killed.
‘We were all three standing there. Mike pulled the gun out and shot Dustin in the back of the head five times,’ Branaghan said.
‘I was just a few feet away. Mike turned around and walked back to his house as though nothing happened.’
Dustin Schmidt was found dead by police in his backyard on Tuesday night with at least five gunshot wounds to his body
Police said they do not have a motive yet but they are still investigating.
‘All indications are that these people – up until last night – got along. We’re still trying to figure out why one neighbor shot another,’ Thornton police spokesman Matt Barnes said.
The victim’s fiancee said the couple’s German-shepherd mix dog had started regularly jumping over the fence separating their yard from Sadeghi’s.
Branaghan said they had put up electric wire to stop the dog from jumping but he managed to make it over the fence on Tuesday night.
Schmidt’s fiancee Vicki Branaghan said the incident was sparked when their neighbor became enraged and accused them of abusing their German-shepherd mix dog
Police said they do not have a motive yet but they are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting in the backyard of this home
He was left hanging from his neck on Sadeghi’s side of the fence before Schmidt ran over and pulled him back over.
Schmidt swatted the dog as discipline, according to his fiancee.
Branaghan said Sadeghi started screaming that the victim had beaten the dog.
She said the pair got into an argument as Sadeghi continued to yell, accusing them of animal abuse.
Branaghan said Sadeghi reached over the fence and shot her fiancee as he walked away.
Sadeghi is facing first degree murder charges. He is being held at the Adams County Detention Facility while police continue their investigations.