Man accidentally shoots girlfriend, blames imaginary black man, Republic police say

After police say he accidentally shot his girlfriend in the hip, Aaron Zumwalt allegedly put a floor mat on the front seat of his 2003 Chevrolet Impala so the woman wouldn't get blood on the seat.

The 28-year-old Aurora man is a convicted felon — who is out on bond in a rape case — and is not legally allowed to possess a firearm.

Zumwalt drove his girlfriend to Cox Hospital early Sunday morning, then allegedly told police that he was at a Republic residence when all of a sudden an unknown black man pulled out a gun and shot his girlfriend in the stomach.

That's not how his girlfriend remembered it.

According to a probable cause statement filed by Republic police, Zumwalt's girlfriend said she was sitting in a chair at a home with Zumwalt and a third person when she heard a loud bang and felt a sharp pain in her right hip.

She tried to stand up, the statement said, and realized she was bleeding from below her navel and from her right buttocks.

The statement said a detective interviewed Zumwalt at the Greene County Jail and told him the shooting appeared to be an accident.

Zumwalt allegedly started nodding his head.

According to the statement, the detective asked if he wanted to talk about it, and Zumwalt said he was "f-----" and pointed to the monitor on his ankle.

Zumwalt said he was a felon, had a multi-felony case pending, and didn't want to be in jail because he had a new baby on the way in three weeks, the statement said.

Then Zumwalt began to cry, the documents say.

Zumwalt has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and making a false report. Online records show he is being held in the Greene County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

In 2009, Zumwalt pleaded guilty to theft and burglary, court records show.

In 2016, he was charged with two counts of rape, four counts of domestic assault and one count of sodomy after police say he beat and raped a woman in 2015.

Zumwalt posted his $30,000 bond in December, records show, but returned to jail in May after police say he went within 1,000 feet of his victim's home three times.

Judge Calvin Holden approved a $40,000 bond, according to court records, which Zumwalt posted about a week later.

Zumwalt's attorney for that case did not immediately respond to a request for comment.