An Arcadia, California nurse is charged with firing multiple shots into a neighbor’s home. Kathryn Pugh was arrested without bond as a result of her alleged use of a firearm while intoxicated at Pin Hsin Lin’s apartment on Block 600 of Sunset Boulevard. It appeared to be motivated by an ongoing disagreement between her and Lin, a piano teacher.
Sergeant Ryan Mulhall of the Arcadia Police Department stated after her arrest on Monday August 1: “We found a drunk woman in possession of two guns.” We later learned that she fired two shots through a ground floor apartment. She had a bottle of tequila at her house when we spotted her, and she was feigning drunk.
The woman reportedly dialed 911 after two bullets reportedly pierced her roof and entered her home. Lin was reportedly inside when the shots rang out, so she may have been injured as well. She said: “Suddenly a straight bullet. I quickly dialed 911 after realizing the hole was caused by a gunshot.
Lin continued by outlining her conflict with Pugh, a registered nurse who received a 2019 DAISY award from Huntington Health in Arcadia. She identified herself as a piano teacher who has been teaching students from her home for almost three years. And in those years nobody had complained about the noise, but when the prosecutor moved in, she started having problems.
Lin also said she first heard a popping noise around noon on Monday, followed by two more at night. But it wasn’t until the fourth shot that she realized they were actually gunshots, as she saw one coming through the roof. She eventually discovered a second bullet hole in a kitchen cabinet. Lin continued, “The rice cooker was right under the bullet hole.
After his arrest, Pugh’s bail was initially set at $250,000 and later increased to $500,000. She was eventually jailed without bond by Judge Terry Lee Smerling, who called her “a threat to the community.” It’s really tragic for us, Public Defender Karla Sarabia said, before continuing: “Possibly until she comes to court, so that could be months and maybe even longer in a case this big. In addition to a job and an apartment, she is threatened with the loss of her livelihood.
Pugh’s mother, Marie, also expressed her dissatisfaction. She claimed, “She has no prior knowledge, she is a respectable person, she attended Berkeley, she had financial support, and she received a 4.0.” (Grade Point Average). She is among the finest people to ever walk the planet. Although Lin said, “I’m afraid she will take revenge,” Lin doesn’t actually feel that way. The accused is scheduled to appear in court on August 16.
As for the judge’s verdict, Fox News noted that it was the exact opposite of what Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon thought. “The District Attorney has firmly subscribed to the key concepts that Los Angeles voters have embraced, including the goals of eliminating cash bail and maximizing pre-trial release within the confines of public safety,” the attorney general’s office said in March.
“Over the past 18 months we have uncovered some deficiencies in our current pre-trial surveillance system that require minor changes to the way we work towards these goals. The agency may require bail for individuals who pose an extreme risk to public safety, including those who committed additional crimes during pre-trial release, in a narrowly limited set of situations,” she noted.