Man wanted in connection with Orem shooting charged with murder


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OREM — An Orem man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting near Utah Valley University Thursday has been charged with murder.

Elbert Paule was charged in 4th District Court Saturday with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Dominique Barnett, 26. If convicted, Paule could spend at least 15 years to life in prison.

The deadly shooting happened around 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Parkway Lofts, 1225 W. 1000 South, near the Utah Valley University campus. Orem police reported that Barnett died after being shot in the apartment breezeway.

Charging documents say Barnett, who was an acquaintance of Paule, went to Paule's apartment and knocked on the door.

"Shortly thereafter, Mr. Paule opened the door and, without warning, shot Barnett point blank in the torso with a 12 gauge shotgun," the court filing says.

After the shooting, the document says Paule threw the gun from the balcony and fled the area.

The document also says a witness who was inside the apartment told police that after Paule heard the knock on the door, he proceeded to "pick up a shotgun, peak through the peephole and exclaim, 'Ah, hell no!'"

After more than a day on the run, Orem police announced that Paule had turned himself in Saturday morning.

Paule's prior criminal record shows recent misdemeanor charges for the use or possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. In May 2018, Paule was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance.

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Jordan Ormond is a deputy news director at KSL.com. She joined KSL.com in 2007 as a web producer and spent many years selecting, writing and editing news stories particularly important to Utah readers. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in broadcast journalism.

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