A Cañon City man, who reportedly shot at a car after a dispute over the ownership of a dog, pleaded guilty to menacing – a Class 5 felony – on Monday during his arraignment.
As part of the plea agreement, Caleb Clayton Alexander, 20, will be on 24-month supervised probation with standard terms and conditions. In addition, Alexander also will be required to complete anger management evaluations and any recommended treatment as an extension of those evaluations.
Alexander cannot own any firearms or ammunition during that time and is prohibited from any contact with alleged victims, Ethan Yarberry, or Yarberry’s girlfriend, Brittany Kenitzer.
There is an option to terminate the deferred sentence in 12 months should Alexander comply with the above stipulations.
Judge Katilin Turner verified that Alexander understood the terms of the agreement, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and had time to consult with his attorney, Aaron Pembleton, to which Alexander agreed.
Judge Turner accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Alexander as such.
The alleged incident took place June 22 at the Shady Nook Mobile Home Park, according to an affidavit.
Arrest affidavit: Dispute over dog led to Cañon City man shooting at vehicle
After shots were fired, Alexander called 911, stating that an individual had just stolen his dog and that he fired two shots from his 12-gauge shotgun at the vehicle,
Alexander later in the evening was arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree assault, a Class 4 felony; menacing, a Class 5 felony; reckless endangerment, a Class 2 misdemeanor; and illegal discharge of a firearm, a Class 5 felony.
According to a statement of probable cause penned by Cañon City Police Detective Timothy Smelser, Alexander and his girlfriend, Syra Cherry, had agreed to keep the dog of an acquaintance, Yarberry, in March because Yarberry wasn't allowed to have dogs where he was living.
Yarberry recently had obtained housing that allowed pets and texted Cherry and asked if he could pick up the dog. She agreed that he could collect the dog, but when she called Alexander to inform him, Alexander allegedly told her not to allow him to take the dog, to lock the door and not answer it.
Cañon City man accused of shooting at car to enter plea agreement
As Yarberry was turning his vehicle around to exit the park, Alexander returned home and learned that Yarberry had the dog.
"Caleb maintained that he was not intending to harm or kill anyone but stated that he was trying to scare them by firing the two shots at the car," the affidavit states. "He stated that he intentionally aimed at the lower portion of the car because he did not wish to harm anyone."
Authorities did find damage to Yarberry's vehicle's rear passenger side brake lamp, the trunk door and the driver's side of the vehicle. They also found that across the street from the trailer park, in the direction that Alexander had fired, the passenger side window of a NAPA business pickup truck had been shot out.
