Dog shot with .22 near school, two teens arrested - Cinnaminson, NJ

Wednesday, Mar 18, 2009

County: Burlington

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» 17 year old male
» 15 year old male

Two teenage boys who claim to be white supremacist skinheads are accused of torturing and then shooting a dog in the woods near a local elementary school, police said.

The boys, ages 15 and 17, were charged Thursday with animal cruelty, possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon on school property, police said.

Additional charges of committing a crime on behalf of a criminal street gang and solicitation of another to join a criminal street gang were filed against both boys Friday, police said.

Investigators said the latter charges could result in the boys being waived into adult court. Unless that occurs, their identities will not be released because they are underage.

Cinnaminson Det. Sgt. William Covert said the black Labrador retriever dog was discovered Wednesday evening by two other juveniles who were riding bicycles in the woods behind the New Albany Elementary School when they noticed a black wire sticking out of the ground with multi-colored video jacks attached. When the boys pulled the wire, the head of the dead dog appeared from a shallow grave.

A closer examination revealed the wire was attached to the dog's collar as a lead, the detective said.

The boys notified their parents who then contacted Riverfront Animal Control officers.

Cinnaminson police detectives also responded and processed the area as a crime scene.

"At first we didn't know what we were dealing with, whether this was some sort of ritualistic killing or what," Covert said Friday. "Everybody treated it as the real deal. It was scary."

Covert said the remains of the dog were taken to Animal Emergency Service of South Jersey in Mount Laurel to be examined and a necropsy confirmed the animal had been tortured and the shot at point-blank range in the rear of its skull with a .22-caliber firearm.

Further investigation by detectives and Cinnaminson School Resource Officer Paul Seymour led to the identification and of the two teenage suspects, Covert said. Both boys were brought to police headquarters by their parents, and Covert said they confessed to torturing and killing the animal.

Covert described the scene as particularly "disturbing and scary" and said investigators treated the case as a serious crime.

Covert said the boys claimed membership within the Aryan Nation, also known as neo-Nazis, and racist writings and skinhead literature were found in their possession.

He said police are aware of some other juveniles purported to be members of the skinhead group and that police plan to address the issue with the Cinnaminson school district.

A .22-caliber rifle was later found in a plastic case that had been covered with dirt, branches and leaves in the woods near where the dog was killed, Covert said.

He said the rifle belonged to one of the suspect's family members and had been taken without the owner's knowledge.

Covert said the dog was not a stray, but he declined to specify the owner of the dog.

After being processed and charged, the 15-year-old was lodged in the Burlington County Juvenile Detention Center in Pemberton Township. The 17-year-old was released to the custody of his mother.

Joel Bewley, a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office, said the 15-year-old appeared in Family Court in Mount Holly Friday afternoon for a preliminary hearing. He said the presiding Superior Court judge ordered him to be remanded to the detention center pending a future hearing on April 6.

Bewley was unsure if the other teenage suspect had a court hearing on Friday.

Cinnaminson Superintendent Sal Illuzzi said one of the suspects attended an approved private school outside the district. He said the other boy attended a district public school, but that the school administrators had not discussed possible school disciplinary action against him.

"It's too early to discuss disciplinary actions, but we are really upset about this," Illuzzi said.

"It happens fairly frequently," said Lt. Col. Sy Goldberg of the NJ SPCA said Friday. "What we're finding out is that juveniles that abuse animals are having problems in their households."

Goldberg said he was unaware of any other animal abuse cases involving skinhead groups, but said he wouldn't be surprised if such incidents occurred as a way to desensitize members to violence and murder.

"Abusing animals is how it starts," he said. "When you take abuse out on an animal it usually eventually leads to similar actions against humans."

Covert said the two teenagers confessed during questioning to killing squirrels and rabbits prior to abusing and executing the dog.

"It seemed to be progressing up in a bad way," Covert said.

References

• « NJ State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Burlington County, NJ

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