A self-described YouTuber, “looking for a thrill,” was shot earlier this year when he went onto private property in La Plata.
Juvian Bedoni, 21, was left with a fractured vertebrae, damaged kidney, liver and colon, when he was struck by a bullet from a .40-caliber Glock handgun the morning of July 20 at a home on County Road 1494.
The man, who shot him, Randal Jay Dugan, 48, of La Plata, was charged with one count of third-degree aggravated battery, a charge he pleaded no contest to on Dec. 11 in front of District Judge Karen Townsend.
Dugan admitted there was enough evidence to prosecute him, but he did not directly admit his guilt, as Dugan told the police that Bedoni was on private property and attempted to break into a home belonging to his in-laws, according to court records.
However, Bedoni told San Juan County Sheriff’s deputies he “climbed over the fence” to gain access to the property, but “didn’t try jiggling the door.” He stated that he “never went on the front porch, nor did he look in the windows”; instead, “he was only walking around the outside of the trailer,” according to the statement of probable cause.
Bedoni admitted to police he had been drinking and was walking around the property “looking for excitement,” when he heard someone yell, “What are you doing?” He told detectives he thought “Oh shoot, I’m busted,” and he began running away. This is when he heard a shot and felt “significant pain” and fell to the ground, according to court records.
Bedoni lay in the field waiting for help, and Dugan and his wife called for emergency services. Karie Dugan remained with him, “praying,” until AirCare arrived to lift him out of the field and back to the hospital.
As sheriff’s detectives investigated the case, they were told by Dugan that he “couldn’t see” Bedoni and had fired “warning shots.” However, Karie Dugan told detectives she “could see the male from where she was at,” court records state.
Dugan said he fired “through the bush,” and that he “didn’t know what the male was wearing and it was ‘all black’ because of the low light,” court records state.
Dugan also claimed Bedoni tried to kick in the front door, but sheriff’s detectives said there was no evidence of an attempted break-in at the location, court records state.
Detectives continued questioning Dugan as to the location of the shooting, but they could not locate shell casings in the area, where Dugan said he was standing. They also reported in the statement of probable cause that there was “a fence line and Juvian was on the other side on a different property.”
After investigating and walking the property, sheriff’s detectives stated that Dugan’s “statement that he never saw anyone there appears highly unlikely,” and it also “indicated he likely aimed directly at the tree” where Bedoni was standing, and the “lighting conditions and landscape where the incident took place appear to indicate” Dugan “should have seen a human silhouette,” according to the statement of probable cause.
Under the plea agreement, Dugan agreed to “forfeit the firearm” used in the incident, and the Office of the District Attorney stated there would be no opposition to supervised probation and a conditional discharge.
District Judge Townsend set sentencing for 11 a.m. Jan. 2.
