A Colorado man traveling to a new job in Lincoln faces charges of carrying a concealed weapon and animal cruelty following a bizarre incident that resulted in the shooting death of a pet dog on the night of July 2. Waterville Deputy Police Chief Joseph Massey said that his investigation showed that Gary Hansen, 42, fatally wounded a traveling companion's dog in a motel parking lot.
Hansen, who claimed the shooting was an accident, tried to cover up the crime by burying the gun and taking off his bloody clothing, Massey said. "He took his clothes off in the woods; they were bloody from trying to carry the dog."
Massey said Hansen told him he was only trying to "wing" the dog after it failed to respond to a command to come back to the family's truck. The dog, which was hit in the midsection, died soon after at a local veterinarian's office.
Massey said the incident began around 7:30 p.m., when a woman staying at the Econo Lodge on Kennedy Memorial Drive called the dispatch center with a report that her dog had been shot from a passing tractor-trailer on Interstate 95.
"She said she was walking her dog in the woods between Econo Lodge and 95, " Massey said. "She said she heard a loud bang and saw a silver tractor-trailer, (and) she believed someone from inside that tractor-trailer shot her dog" - a husky-wolf hybrid named Brandy.
Massey said state police were alerted and officers converged on the motel parking lot. When they arrived, he said, a witness not involved with the report pointed police to a Dodge Durango SUV parked in the motel lot.
Massey said the woman driving attempted to leave the parking lot as police approached but was stopped. "Then the officers saw the male passenger, who had only his underwear and socks on and had blood on his arms and chest," he said.
The man was identified as Gary Hansen. The woman was identified as his sister, Lynn Hansen, 54, also of Colorado.
Massey said Gary Hansen was arrested after admitting to having a handgun and to not having a concealed weapons permit. Massey said Hansen turned over a .40-caliber Springfield Armory semi-automatic pistol.
Hansen was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and with cruelty to an animal. He made the $1,000 bail and was released.
Lynn Hansen was charged with concealing a loaded handgun as the driver of the vehicle. She was released on $500 bail.
Massey said the Hansens were on their way to the Penobscot County town of Lincoln, where they are to begin new jobs.
The dog was owned by a third member of the party, Jill Hammerbeck, also of Colorado. Massey said Hammerbeck may be charged with filing a false report. He said the trio had been traveling together in a pickup truck for three days from Colorado and were exhausted.
"The husky hybrid wolf got away and wouldn't come back," Massey said. "So Gary said 'I'll just shoot the dog and wing it.' . . . Unfortunately, it was more than a wing shot - it hit the dog right in the side."
Hansen reportedly tried to carry the dog back to the motel, which is when he removed his clothing.
Massey said Hansen later told police that they had the wrong gun. "He said 'the gun I shot the dog with is not the gun I gave you. I buried it in the woods,' " Massey said.
Police found the other weapon, a .357-Magnum revolver with one spent cartridge in the cylinder, buried under leaves and soil. Massey said the case remains under investigation and additional charges could be filed. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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