Former Riverside County deputy arrested in shooting death of neighbor

A former Riverside County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting his neighbor during a dispute, authorities said.

Steven Baumgartner, 53, of Crestline was taken into custody about 5:14 p.m. Monday in the shooting death of 38-year-old Michael Paul Clark, according to a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department news release.

Deputies arrived in the 23900 block of Wildwood Lane in Crestline and found Clark suffering from a gunshot wound.

He was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.

Deputies immediately detained Baumgartner in the shooting, which allegedly stemmed from a “verbal dispute between neighbors,” department officials said.

Days before the shooting, Baumgartner posted a message on his Facebook page: “I had enough last night...The neighbors fighting and breaking [expletive] in their home. Called the sheriff to come sort [it] out.”

It is unclear whether Clark was the neighbor Baumgartner was referring to in his post.

Baumgartner worked for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in the 1990s, according to published reports and his Facebook account. He later worked as a security officer for a year at the Rim of the World Unified School District.

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