An 18-year-old Bardwell man is free on bonds of $5,000 relating to the shooting death of a Chihuahua. According to sheriff's office reports, the incident occurred Dec. 26 in the 400 block of E. Main St. in Bardwell.
"The complainant had returned home and let her dog out to go to the bathroom, and while she and her children were in the backyard, a neighbor walked outside and shot the Chihuahua in the head, killing it," sheriff's Lt. Danny Williams said. "She called 911 ... the suspect came back out with a trash bag, put the dog in it and put the bag into a trash can."
Deputies made contact with the man, who told them the dog had been coming onto his property and tearing up his trash, Williams said, noting a 12 gauge shotgun was secured by the deputies who subsequently took the man into custody.
Erick Wayne Goff was booked into the Wayne McCollum Detention Center on a class A misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty, a third-degree felony charge of deadly conduct with a firearm and a state jail felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. The deadly conduct charge was because the complainant and her children were outside when the man fired the weapon, Williams said.
Williams cautions people to let animal control officers handle incidents rather than take matters into their own hands.
"Just because a dog comes onto your property, that's no reason to just kill it," he said, noting it is against the law to kill the animal except under limited circumstances that would involve protection of self or family.
"Even then, it's still going to be up to the courts," he said, noting the charge for animal cruelty can range from misdemeanor level up to a state jail felony.
Williams also reminds people that Ellis County does have a leash law ordinance - and that animals can't be simply turned loose where they can run onto other people's property.
"By letting them do that, they're in violation and can be issued a citation," he said.
Complaints should be directed to animal control officers, who will take the appropriate action, he said. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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