 Dog shot with semiautomatic assault rifle
Harvard, IL (US)Date: May 5, 2005
County: McHenry
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Abuser/Suspect: Lawrence C. Preston
Upcoming Court Dates: Dec 22, 2006: sentencing
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available |
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In June, a McHenry County grand jury indicted Lawrence Preston for aggravated animal cruelty and injuring a domestic animal in connection with the May 5 shooting of a sheepdog.
According to McHenry County Sheriff's Department and adjacent property owner Charlie Kostomiris, Preston shot and killed Kostomiris' Anatolian sheepdog, Mourgo.
Police said Mourgo was about 40 feet away when Preston took aim with his AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle, firing four rounds and hitting the dog three times.
"He apparently was going to get the paper ... ," McHenry County sheriff's Lt. Don Carlson said.
Preston and has told police that he acted in self-defense. Case UpdatesA McHenry County man accused of shooting to death his neighbor's dog with a semiautomatic rifle was convicted Friday on a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty.
After two days of testimony in McHenry County Circuit Court, jurors deliberated about 2� hours before convicting Lawrence Preston, 50, who testified that was protecting himself against Mourgio, a 96-pound Anatolian shepherd.
One juror said afterwards that Preston gave conflicting accounts of what happened outside his home on the morning of May 5, 2005, and that the evidence suggested the dog was not charging when it was shot.
"The way the bullets came in from his tail to his nose, in my experience as a hunter, says the dog was shot from behind," said juror Jake Weygand of Crystal Lake. "Bullets don't lie."
Preston's sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 22.
Preston, a mechanic who was training to be a deputy with the Lake County sheriff's police, said Mourgio had growled at him when he went out to get his newspaper in the back yard of his home on Island Road in unincorporated McHenry County. He said he went inside, called to the dog's owner, and then went back outside armed with a semiautomatic rife.
Prosecutors argued that Preston shot the dog execution style as part of an ongoing dispute with neighbor Charles Kostomiris, 80, Mourgio's owner. Preston and other neighbors had opposed plans by Kostomiris to build a house on the 20 acres he has owned since 1993.
"This is the best news I ever heard for a long time," said Kostomiris, who is living in a rented home in Woodstock until his new house is completed. "He punished me for 14 years, and finally it is time for him to pay for what he did to me." | Source: Chicago Tribune - Oct 27, 2006
Update posted on Oct 29, 2006 - 8:54AM |
Charges against a former Lake County Sheriff�s deputy trainee accused of gunning down his neighbor�s dog will stand after a judge ruled Wednesday that prosecutors did not violate rules about sharing evidence.
Judge Joseph Condon rejected claims McHenry County prosecutors failed to provide lawyers for Lawrence Preston with information they could use to prepare his defense.
�If you want me to dismiss an indictment you have to prove that the state has not been diligent,� Condon told Preston attorney David Franks. �Frankly, I don�t see any violation.�
A grand jury last year indicted Preston, 50, of Harvard, on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and criminal damage to property stemming from the May 5, 2005, shooting of his next-door neighbor�s sheepdog.
The felony charges allege Preston used an assault rifle to gun down the 96-pound animal without justification.
At the time, Preston was in training for become a member of the Lake County Sheriff�s Department�s Marine Unit. The department later dismissed him from the program because of the incident.
Preston has pleaded not guilty and told authorities after the incident that he shot the dog in self defense.
His attorney argued Wednesday that he had not received several requested items of evidence from prosecutors, including an audiotape from the dog�s autopsy and Preston�s law enforcement personnel records.
But Assistant McHenry County State�s Attorney Will Dennison said he has not received that information because his office never obtained it.
�The tapes do not exist,� Dennison said. �It�s certainly improper to dismiss an evidence based on the failure to tender evidence that doesn�t exist.�
Preston, who faces a maximum sentence of one to three years in prison if found guilty, is scheduled to go on trial Aug. 7. | Source: Daily Herald
Update posted on Jun 7, 2006 - 6:50PM |
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