Flat tires preceded shooting
The Pittsburgh boxer was released on $50,000 bail.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- An argument over two flat tires on a luxury sport utility vehicle preceded a shooting in which former lightweight champion Paul Spadafora allegedly shot his girlfriend in the abdomen, leaving her critically wounded, according to a police affidavit.
Spadafora posted $50,000 bond and was released Monday night after spending most of the day in jail.
The 28-year-old boxer, known as the "Pittsburgh Kid" was arraigned around 3 a.m. on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and violation of firearms laws, police said.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Allegheny County police interviewed an unidentified witness who saw Spadafora yelling at his girlfriend, Nadine Russo, 20, of Pittsburgh, early Sunday morning near a gas station in McKees Rocks, Pa.
The witness saw Russo driving Spadafora's 2003 Hummer HS over a concrete median and in front of a a convenience store at the gas station.
Spadafora, who was in the front passenger seat, got out of the vehicle after it had stopped and became upset when he saw that the vehicle's two left-side tires were flat, the witness told police.
The witness said Spadafora yelled obscenities at the woman, got into the driver's side of the vehicle after he pushed Russo into the passenger side of the Hummer, and drove the vehicle to another area of the parking lot. The couple then got out of the vehicle and walked away from the gas station, the affidavit said.
The witness became distracted and turned away from the couple, but then heard a loud bang, according to the affidavit. The witness then saw Russo stagger and collapse, the affidavit said.
Victim is critical
Russo was in the Allegheny General Hospital on Monday afternoon and, while the hospital said it had no information about the woman, family members said she remained in critical condition following surgery.
Police also interviewed a second witness who said Spadafora shouted obscenities and threats when the witness tried to aid Russo by placing pressure on her bullet wound, police said in the document.
The second witness grabbed a cell phone out of Spadafora's hand to call emergency crews, but the boxer "snatched" the phone away, the affidavit said.
When McKees Rocks police first responded to the scene shortly before 6 a.m., an officer found Russo laying in the gas station parking lot with a broken cell phone laying nearby. Police also found a Smith & amp; Wesson .38 caliber revolver near the scene where the first witness last saw the couple arguing, the affidavit said.
Unknown gunman
When he was questioned by police Sunday morning, Spadafora told them that while he was "really mad" about the damage Russo had caused his vehicle, an unknown gunman had shot his girlfriend after Spadafora had walked away from her, the document said.
Police released Spadafora Sunday morning because of a lack of evidence, but a warrant was issued for his arrest around noon. Police arrested Spadafora in the evening following a traffic stop near his home in Moon Township, police said.
Police interviewed a third witness who talked to Spadafora after he was released. That witness quoted the boxer as saying that Russo was shot during a robbery at the gas station, the document said.
Spadafora's newly appointed attorney, William Difenderfer, would not comment as he entered the Allegheny County Jail on Monday afternoon. He did not immediately return phone calls to The Associated Press on Monday.
Spadafora was arrested last week on charges of public lewdness and intoxication after officers said they spotted him Friday urinating on a Pittsburgh street.
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