CLAREMONT — A 35-year-old Claremont man faces an attempted murder charge after a shooting early Monday morning during an altercation that was recorded by security cameras in downtown Claremont, according to police.
Nathan Pillsbury allegedly shot victim Ty Fowler in the back of the leg on May 16 near the Main Street bridge by Sugar River Mills and later bragged about it to friends, according to the police affidavit filed to demonstrate probable cause for Pillsbury’s arrest by Claremont police on Wednesday.
Pillsbury is being held on a detention order in Sullivan County House of Corrections and waived his right to a bail hearing and arraignment, according to a order by Superior Court Judge Martin Honigberg. He is also charged with first-degree assault with a firearm, being a convicted felon in possession of firearm and concealing evidence, according to the complaints in his court docket in Sullivan Superior Court. At the time of his arrest, Pillsbury had a warrant out in connection with a federal probation and parole violation.
Police received a report just after 3 a.m. on Monday morning of a gunshot in the area the bridge, according to the affidavit prepared by Det. Cameron Blewit of the Claremont Police Department. After police arrived at the scene, they received a phone call from an anonymous tipster who said Pillsbury had shot Fowler, also of Claremont, in the leg.
The woman said Fowler’s gunshot wound was not life-threatening and that he might have been on his way to a hospital in Manchester to seek medical treatment, the affidavit said.
On Tuesday morning, police obtained video footage from a security camera at Oasis Teen Shelter on Main Street/Route 12 which showed Fowler walking from Factory Street into Main Street when a red Jeep Grand Cherokee came into the frame and stopped.
A man who police identify as Pillsbury emerged from the vehicle and “assaulted Fowler and threw him to the ground,” saying, “You owe dues,” the affidavit said.
The assailant is seen hitting and kicking Fowler on the ground before Fowler got back on his feet and then moved on the sidewalk to the bridge railing and then back in the street, according to the affidavit.
The video footage then shows Pillsbury firing “one round from a hand gun (that) struck Fowler in the back of the leg” while “a loud pop from the firearm was heard and muzzle flash could be seen on the video,” the affidavit said.
“Fowler dropped to the ground and screamed in pain” as Pillsbury can be seen approaching him, according to the affidavit. “Fowler plead(s) with (Pillsbury) to ‘get out of here.’ ”
Pillsbury then appears to take a “take a bag” from Fowler and walks away down Factory Street, according to police.
Later on Tuesday, the detective met with the woman who called police to identify Fowler as the victim and Pillsbury as the alleged assailant. She said Fowler had left her home on Factory Street shortly before she and others there “heard a gunshot.”
Moments later, the woman told the detective, Pillsbury came “bursting through the door” to announce “I just shot Ty Fowler,” according to the affidavit.
The woman said she picked up a meat cleaver, then put it back down and instead “punched (Pillsbury) three times in the face,” and then left the house with a friend to find Fowler.
On Wednesday morning another woman came to the Claremont Police station and said she had dropped Pillsbury off on Factory Street on Monday morning and that Pillsbury had previously mentioned he planned to “get payback” on Fowler because he had “beat up” a friend of Pillsbury’s over an unpaid debt.
When Claremont police and U.S. Marshals visited Pillsbury’s parents home on Camden Avenue on Tuesday to locate Pillsbury, his parents said they had not seen their son since Monday at around 2 p.m.
Later Wednesday, when Claremont police were called to an address on Winter Street to respond to a report of Pillsbury being involved in a fight at the residence, they arrested him, the affidavit said.
Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.
