MOAB, Utah — A 22-year-old in Grand County is facing attempted murder and felony discharge of a firearm charges after he allegedly shot at a residence over a year-long parking dispute. Nobody was injured in the shooting.
Zane Beecher Maher-Young, 22, was arrested on Thursday and is being held without bail as investigators say he was on federal probation at the time of the shooting.
Grand County Sheriff's deputies claim in court documents that they were called to the 2700 block of Nuevo Court in Moab at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday for the reported shooting.
When deputies arrived, they contacted the homeowners, who weren't injured in the shooting. Deputies also observed bullet holes in the residence, the garage, and two vehicles belonging to the residents. 9mm shell cases were also found 30 yards from the home.
While en route to the home where the shooting occurred, Moab officers spotted a man near the intersection of Spanish Trail and Spanish Valley walking towards a gas station. The man was allegedly sweaty, winded, and out of place for the time of day.
Before officers were able to turn their vehicles around to speak to the man, he had disappeared.
Another officer spotted a man about 35 minutes later walking alone on Desert Road. That man was allegedly sweating profusely and had a backpack and blood on him.
However, the man that police contacted was wearing different shorts and a shirt than the man the previous officers had witnessed. This man was identified as Maher-Young.
Maher-Young told officers that he had just left a gas station after attempting to buy beer and claimed that he had injured his hand while hopping over a fence.
Investigators detained Maher-Young and obtained a warrant to search his backpack. Inside, officers found a firearm known as a Polymer 80 that uses Glock parts and 9mm ammunition. Also inside the bag were a change of clothes and shoes.
When detectives spoke to Maher-Young's father, he told them that there had been an incident between his son and the victim over a parking spot more than a year ago. Maher-Young's father told police his son had been holding onto the dispute for a long time.
At 6:15 a.m., Maher-Young's vehicle was found on Desert Road by police. Inside, they found a pair of blue shorts matching the individual first seen by police earlier that morning. The license plate of the vehicle was also covered in an attempt to avoid identification.
A search warrant of Maher-Young's residence found another Polymer 80 firearm.
When speaking to police, Maher-Young told officers that he had been purchasing parts for the firearms online and putting them together himself. He also admitted to planning the shooting and his attempted escape.
