Crime & Safety
Attempted Murder Charges Filed Against Pleasanton Dog Trainer, New Details Emerge On Confrontation: Police
New details have emerged on the confrontation that led to a shooting of a 71-year-old man in Pleasanton Saturday.
PLEASANTON, CA — Court documents obtained by Pleasanton Weekly and KTVU reveal new details about the events leading up to the shooting of a 71-year-old man on Vineyard Avenue Saturday.
On Tuesday, The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged Joshua Kaplan, a 50-year-old Sunol resident and dog trainer, with attempted murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle, according to Alameda County records reviewed by Patch. Several enhancement charges have been filed, including intentional discharge of a firearm that caused great bodily injury or death.
Kaplan is currently booked at Santa Rita Jail on a $500,000 bail, according to Alameda County records reviewed by Patch. He is scheduled to appear for a plea hearing on Aug. 7.
Find out what's happening in Pleasantonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The victim is currently in stable condition, police said Monday.
According to summaries of the court documents published by Pleasanton Weekly and KTVU, the incident began after Kaplan received a video from a client of his neighbor allegedly beating his dog. According to a probable cause declaration from a Pleasanton police officer, Kaplan called the police department, and then went to his neighbor’s house while the police arrived.
Find out what's happening in Pleasantonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
While Kaplan was waiting, the victim walked out of his home to run an errand. As he was pulling out of his driveway, Kaplan parked his truck in the victim’s path to block him from leaving. Kaplan told his neighbor that he could not leave because he had called the police, but the victim insisted that he had to leave, and would talk to police when he returned. According to the report, the victim then attempted to move forward and hit Kaplan’s truck.
At that point, Kaplan began shooting from inside his truck, striking the victim. The victim then ran inside to get his shotgun and loaded it, but didn’t fire it. He was then struck a second time.
The victim was eventually transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, though he has since stabilized. Kaplan was booked into Santa Rita Jail.
Patch is awaiting further information from the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and the Pleasanton Police Department.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
