Detectives with the sheriff's office believe he fired a shot into his neighbor's home on Iona Avenue at around 3 a.m., hitting a 5-year-old boy as he watched tv with his brother.
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"I thought it was a chair or something that fell down, but one of the kids yelled that Chino got shot," said the victim's brother-in-law, Julian Moreno.
The bullet entered the east side of the home, grazed the boy's head, and went through another wall on the other side of the living room.
Sheriff's Officials say Paulo, a farmer, lives about a mile away from the home he may have targeted.
"Rowdy and this family have had some conflict. Not going to go into the details of all their conflicts, but they've had some neighborhood conflicts with one another," said Kings County Sheriff's Commander Mark Bevens.
Bevens says the California Highway Patrol arrested Paulo in the area about an hour later for drinking and driving.
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Sheriff's detectives then assisted probation officers with a search of Paulo's home, where they found a rifle with bullets similar to the one found in the wall at the home on Iona.
Family members say 5-year-old Brandon Estrada or Chino has already undergone surgery at Valley Children's Hospital.
They say he's an active little boy who loves animals.
"He loves doing like lots of activities outside. He's a really smart boy," said the victim's sister, Ana Estrada.
Rowdy Paulo is being held on $800,000 bail.
Probation was able to search his home Tuesday morning because he was already on probation for a previous DUI.