Dog shot and killed, photographed
Billings, MT (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008
County: Yellowstone
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Dismissed
Person of Interest: Christopher Todd Foster
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A man accused of shooting a dog and posing for pictures with the carcass has been charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty.
Christopher Todd Foster, 36, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in District Court.
According to court records, the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office received a complaint Sept. 17 from Buddy Lemaster, who said he received five pictures showing Foster with Lemaster's dog. Lemaster said he found his dog shot to death several months earlier, but he did not report the incident because he did not know who killed his dog.
The pictures received by Lemaster showed Foster posing with the dead dog, court records state. All five photos showed the dead dog, and three of the photos also showed Foster with a rifle. A second photo showed Foster smiling as he held the head of the dog and his rifle, and a third photo showed the dog posed in a cowboy hat with a cigarette in its mouth, court records state.
Aggravated animal cruelty carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Case UpdatesA state judge this morning refused to allow prosecutors to file a felony aggravated animal cruelty charge against a man accused of posing for pictures with a dead dog.
District Judge Ingrid Gustafson agreed with Public Defender Richard Phillips, who said the prosecution’s affidavit against Christopher Todd Foster did not contain sufficient evidence to support the charge. State law defines aggravated animal cruelty as inflicting “cruelty to an animal with the purpose of terrifying, torturing, or mutilating the animal.”
“You cannot terrorize a dead animal,” Phillips told the judge.
Deputy County Attorney Margaret Gallagher argued that the charge was valid because of the manner of the dog’s death. Prosecutors allege that Foster shot the dog, then posed for pictures with the carcass, including one photo that included the carcass posed in a cowboy hat with a cigarette in its mouth.
Gustafson said she had “some real concerns” if the allegations in the affidavit support the felony charge. She denied the prosecution’s request to file the charge.
Chief Deputy County Attorney Mark Murphy said after the hearing that his office would review the case and consider whether to refile the charge or ask the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office to continue its investigation.
Foster appeared for arraignment and was prepared to plead not guilty, which carries a maximum prison sentence of two years. Gustafson released a $2,500 bond Foster had posted earlier this week.
Prosecutors alleged that the dog’s owner reported receiving five pictures of his dead animal in September. Three of the pictures showed Foster posing with the dog carcass holding a rifle.
Gustafson questioned this morning what evidence prosecutors had that supported the allegation that Foster shot the dog.
Gallagher responded that Foster admitted to the shooting.
“Where does it say that?” Gustafson said.
Gallagher acknowledged that the affidavit did not appear to contain an admission from Foster, but she argued that the pictures of Foster with the dead dog were sufficient circumstantial evidence. | Source: Billings Gazette - Feb 15, 2009
Update posted on Feb 15, 2009 - 6:02PM |
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