Rascal, a 15-pound, 10-year-old pet of the Alan and Kim Stutzman family, was killed March 4, 2006 when shot by a 12-gauge shotgun on a neighboring property off Hummel Valley Rd. SW.
The boy admitted shooting Rascal after initially telling Sgt. Chris Douglass of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff Department that he saw the dog bleeding but was not the person who did it. After being shown evidence against him, the boy reportedly changed his story to say that he was shooting at a bottle and that some of the pellets must have spread out and hit the dog. Douglass is sending a report of the incident to the prosecutor�s office, but no charges have yet been filed.
Case UpdatesA 17-year-old Dover boy admitted to sheriff deputies Monday that he shot and killed a New Philadelphia family�s pet Jack Russell terrier. And although the boy says it was an accident, the grieving family doesn�t believe him. Alan and Kim Stutzman, whose dog Rascal was killed Saturday by the blast from a 12-gauge shotgun, said Monday night the boy changed his story too many times for them to believe that he didn�t intentionally kill the dog.
Sgt. Chris Douglass of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff Department said the boy first admitted being in the location where the dog was shot and said he saw the dog bleeding but was not the one who shot it. After Douglass told him that he had an eyewitness who had seen only the truck the boy was driving go up the oil and gas well road on Saturday, the boy changed some details. �Once he saw the evidence we had, he changed it to say he shot at a bottle and must have hit the dog nearby that he didn�t realize was there,� Douglass said. The boy then told Douglass that when he shot at the bottle, the pellets from the cartridge must have spread out and also hit the dog. �He then admitted he saw the dog lying there and realized it was dead and returned to his truck and left the area,� Douglass said. He said the boy also told him it was about a 50-yard shot, but noted that Alan Stutzman and a neighbor found the spent cartridge about 20 feet from Rascal�s body. �He also stuck to the story that he only fired one round, but there are four people who heard at least two shots, if not three,� Douglass said. He added that the boy also told him he had a dog of his own in his house, that he is an animal lover �and would never do anything like this intentionally.�
The Stutzmans, who are obviously upset over their dog�s death, credit �a neighborhood effort� for helping them and Douglass find the boy. Kim Stutzman said many people came forth with information after the story of Rascal�s death appeared in a Times-Reporter article. �Too many people are upset by what happened to Rascal,� she added. Douglass said a neighbor of the Hummel Valley Rd. SW property where the shooting occurred told him Monday that he had spoken to the owner of the pickup truck whom he remembered having been on the property some time ago. �And the neighbor remembered the name,� he said, adding that he was able to obtain the address and contact the vehicle�s owner. However, it turned out the owner wasn�t the suspect. �It was his 17-year-old son,� Douglass said.
Douglass noted that the boy said he was on the property hunting coyotes, and he had written permission from the landowner to be there. His hunting license had expired Feb. 28, 2006. Douglass confiscated the boy�s 12-gauge shotgun and his expired hunting license. He said a report will be sent to the juvenile prosecutor requesting charges of negligent hunting, hunting without a license and cruelty to an animal.
The boy was released to the custody of his parents. | Source: Times Reporter News - March 2006
Update posted on Apr 1, 2006 - 8:54PM |
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