A 29-year-old San Francisco Fire Department member appeared in an Alameda County Court Tuesday morning on charges that he not only ripped off an Oakland puppy breeder, but fired several bullets at him too.
Not all dog stories are good, and the dog-breeding racket often brings stories that don’t exactly reaffirm your faith in humanity. But this is a tale of alleged human cruelty rather than animal cruelty, as KTVU brings us the story below than a San Francisco firefighter allegedly shot an Oakland man over a puppy deal gone bad, or rather, the firefighter allegedly just did not pay for the puppies, and shot the Oakland man after he called police over the matter.
Some puppies do appear in the KTVU segment above, and they seem pretty healthy. The same cannot be said for 45-year-old Michael Johnson of Oakland, who shows KTVU a bullet wound in his neck, and several bullet holes in his car, allegedly from the gun of 29-year-old off-duty San Francisco firefighter Byron Pointer.
“Being shot by a firefighter, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of," Johnson told KTVU. "They're supposed to be saving lives, not shooting up your car, being shot in the neck, being robbed at gunpoint.”
The two were apparently in business in the puppy breeding trade, and by Johnson's account, met Sunday morning in an Emeryville parking lot for a transaction. Johnson said he was delivering breeding verification paperwork to the firefighter, Pointer. But Johnson says Pointer “smacked it out of my hand, and he had a gun in his other hand." He additionally alleges that Pointer robbed him at gunpoint, and did not pay the $5,500 owed, but it's not clear what was stolen.
Johnson then called the police, who did arrive, but Johnson says both Oakland and Emeryville police declined to question Pointer, saying it was a civil case. Then when Johnson drove past Pointer’s Oakland home, Johnson claimed Pointer unloaded a number of bullets at him, and he’s got the scars and bullet holes to support his claims.
The San Francisco Fire Department says that they are working with the Oakland Police Department on the matter. Johnson was detained at Santa Rita Jail with bail set at $270,000, and he’ll appear in court this morning of charges of destroying and concealing evidence, assault with a firearm, shooting at a vehicle, and receiving stolen property.
Related: Owners of Puppy Killed by Off-Leash Dog at Dolores Park Demand Justice [SFist]
Image: Elena Mozhvilo via Unsplash
