Police: Woman with ‘fascination’ for guns insists boyfriend’s fatal shooting accidental
A woman charged with the fatal shooting of her boyfriend told police it was an accident, though she had previously posted on social media that she wished she could “shoot people with real guns and get away with it,” according to her arrest report.
Allysandra Blea, 20, was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon, police records show.
Around 5 a.m. Saturday, Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to a shooting in the 1000 block of Nassau Drive, near Washington Avenue and North Decatur Boulevard, a news release said. According to Blea’s arrest report, responding officers found 23-year-old Mark Gaughan, who had an apparent gunshot wound to the neck, dead on the sidewalk.
Near Gaughan’s body, officers noticed Polaroid photos that pictured two women — one holding a knife and the other holding a black handgun — leaning on the hood of an SUV.
An Instagram post from TNG, a local talent agency, suggested that Gaughan went by “Santiago” and had worked as a model.
The police report stated that detectives interviewed Blea, Maverick Crafts, and Gavin Fitzpatrick at the scene. They told police that the four of them, including Gaughan, were friends and had been drinking since midnight. At some point, Fitzpatrick had fallen asleep in the living room, while Blea, Crafts, and Gaughan stepped outside to take photos with the gun.
“Maverick recalled Allysandra situated on her lap with the firearm, as Mark took a photo with the flash going off,” the report said. “Maverick then witnessed another flash go off, and Allysandra pointed the firearm at Mark. She stated that she did not see Allysandra pull the trigger, but she heard the gunshot.”
Shortly after, Fitzpatrick was awakened by the sound of the girls screaming and ran outside. He later told police that, having previously worked at a gun store and knowing that they would be drinking, he unloaded Gaughan’s firearm by “removing the magazine, clearing the chamber, and locking the slide back.” According to the report, he said he placed the magazine next to the firearm on a table in the living room before he fell asleep on the couch.
Fitzpatrick and Crafts said that, to their knowledge, Blea and Gaughan were happy and had not had any recent fights.
Crafts also told police that Fitzpatrick had removed the magazine “for safety reasons,” the report said. When she and Blea went into the bedroom to change for the pictures, Gaughan must have reassembled the gun, Crafts added.
Metro later accessed social media data linked with profiles belonging to Blea, Gaughan, Crafts, and Fitzpatrick, according to the report.
“Allysandra’s identified account revealed that she had a fascination with firearms,” detectives said in the report. “In several conversations with various accounts, there was talk about her love of shooting guns, owning guns, building her arsenal, and shooting people in the face.”
Police also said that they found several photographs of Blea holding handguns, revolvers, and rifles against her head and stuffed animals’ heads, as well as pointing at bottles in an unknown location.
Blea also wrote about “killing prostitutes” and homeless people who live in the underground tunnels online, police said. They noted in the report that she has a “bullseye target” tattooed on her chest.
Court records show that Blea was held without bail. She is due in court on Tuesday.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.