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A Sunol dog trainer is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, after allegedly shooting a Pleasanton man Saturday afternoon during a confrontation over a report that the victim was beating his dog.
Pleasanton Police Department Officer David Cach wrote in a probable cause declaration that after calling the cops on the victim for the alleged animal abuse, 50-year-old Joshua Kaplan opened fire on the victim who attempted to leave his Vineyard Avenue home before police arrived.
The situation began on Saturday (July 26) when Kaplan — who is described to be a dog trainer in the police report — received a video from a client allegedly showing his neighbor, the 71-year-old victim, “beating his dog”, Cach wrote in his report, which is now public in the court record. The officer stated that the neighbor also allegedly observed the victim beating his dog.
Police previously told the Weekly there were “no obvious signs of injury to the dog when animal services took custody of it”.
After reviewing the video, Kaplan notified Pleasanton animal control, who advised him to call the Pleasanton Police Department and report the alleged abuse. After reporting it to the police, Kaplan decided to go to the victim’s residence in the 3000 block of Vineyard Avenue to wait for officers to show up, according to Cach.
That’s when the victim exited his house and entered his vehicle to “go run an errand”. As the victim began pulling out of his driveway, Kaplan parked his black truck in front of the victim’s path in order to stop him from leaving, Cach wrote.
According to the officer, Kaplan told the victim he “couldn’t leave because he had called the police about animal abuse”. The victim was adamant about leaving and told Kaplan he would talk to the police when he returned.
That’s when, according to Cach, the victim’s car “suddenly lurched forward and struck Kaplan’s truck”. Kaplan, without warning, then began shooting at the victim from inside his truck and struck the victim in the face, according to the police report.
The victim immediately got out of his vehicle, ran inside his home and grabbed his loaded shotgun before stepping back outside. Holding the shotgun with one hand at his side, the victim noticed the truck was no longer visible, Cach stated.
“Then, again suddenly, he was struck by gunfire and began yelling for his brother to call the police,” Cach wrote.
Moments later officers arrived at the scene to detain Kaplan and render medical aid to the victim who had multiple gunshot wounds throughout his entire body. Police previously told the Weekly that the victim had been shot at least six times.
Cach wrote in his police report that the victim “never pointed his shotgun at anyone and never fired off a round”.
Kaplan immediately invoked his Miranda rights and did not provide any statements, according to the officer. He was later booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin later that night.
According to the criminal complaint that was filed by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, Kaplan is charged with one felony count of attempted murder as well as a second felony count of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle.
He is also facing several special allegations, such as intentional discharge of a weapon, engaging in violent conduct and inflicting great bodily injury to someone over 70 years of age.
Kaplan was scheduled for arraignment on Wednesday morning, with the outcome pending as of publication time.
