Lauren, originally from New Jersey but is based in North Carolina, remains under intensive care in the Morristown Medical Center where she had undergone operations for two bullet wounds in her chest.
A police report said the sh0oting incident stemmed from an ongoing landlord-tenant dispute. Lauren had been living with her fiance, Rob Goodwin, in a two-story house at the farm while she was training with Barisone. He reportedly wanted her out.
Kanarek and Barisone were having a brief conversation outside the home on the 53-acre farm when he shot her twice in the chest with a 9mm Ruger handgun, authorities said in the complaint.
Kanarek’s fiance was inside the home, looked outside to see Barisone brandishing a handgun, authorities said. Barisone allegedly shot at him but missed, breaking a windowpane in the door, authorities said. Goodwin ran outside to struggle with Barisone until police arrived. Kanarak’s fiance, broke his wrist in the struggle.
The hearing before Judge Stephen Taylor Wednesday was to determine whether the defendant would be released from custody or held in jail until completion of the proceedings.
Jeffrey Simms, Barisone’s attorney, said that Lauren Kanarek and her fiance, Rob Goodwin, were “squatters” on Barisone’s property, referring to Kanarek as a “known drifter” in the dressage community.
He said that there was a verbal agreement between the parties that Kanarek and Goodwin were not supposed to be living on the property any longer, which they disregarded.
Simms told reporters that on the morning of the shooting an investigator with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, commonly referred to as DYFS, came to Barisone’s property to follow up on accusations made by Kanarek and Goodwin that Barisone had abused two children living on the farm. Barisone does not have any children but his partner has two children.
“These people would do whatever they can to hurt Mr. Barisone,” Simms said, “and that will come out.”
Barisone, 54, is charged with two counts of attempted murder and weapons offenses in the shooting of Kanarek, who remains in the intensive care unit of Morristown Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
