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ST. GEORGE — An arrest warrant was issued Monday for a Nevada man accused of shooting another man in the face in St. George last summer.
Shane Cameron Palomo, 19, of Mesquite, was charged in 5th District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony. Palomo was 18 at the time of the shooting.
On July 10, about 8 p.m., St. George police responded to a reported traffic accident at Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 S. Dixie Drive. But when officers arrived, they discovered the 19-year-old victim had actually been shot in the face, according to the arrest warrant issued for Palomo.
The man told police "that it was a drug deal gone bad" and that he did not know the name of the person who shot him, the warrant states. The man was taken to a local hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
Investigators served search warrants on the victim's phone and social media accounts and learned that a drug deal was arranged to take place at the cemetery with a person known as "drippydap." When both sides met at the cemetery, the victim told police that Palomo came up to his car and "the suspect then pulled a gun on him and said, 'I'm not messing around, give me the (stuff),'" according to the warrant.
The victim stated that he had his own gun and pulled it out. He told police that Palomo "had a surprised look on his face and then the suspect's gun went off," the warrant says. "(The victim) said the first bullet went across the front of him and struck the door."
The man then put his car in reverse and looked over his right shoulder to back out.
"This was when the suspect fired the second round which struck him in the jaw on the left side of his face. (The victim) said he felt that if he had not looked over his shoulder he likely would have been shot in the right side of his face," the warrant states.
Police later determined that a third round was also fired at the car. After driving an undetermined distance, the man stopped to get help. He said when he opened his door, the window fell out.
After serving a search warrant on the victim's Snapchat account, detectives said they were able to trace the IP address of the person the victim had been communicating with to a couple in Mesquite. Detectives then learned they had a son who allegedly matched the description of the suspect. The victim was then asked to go through photo lineup with police and "picked out Shane Palomo as being the one who entered his car and then shot him," according to the warrant.