A 17-year-old was taken into custody for allegedly shooting and killing a neighbor's dog with a pellet rifle.
The Fayette County Sheriff's Department responded to a home on Emerald Lake Drive on June 5 around 2:42 p.m. where they found a 7-year-old mixed rescue dog named Reese with a small bullet hole in the center of the chest.
Authorities who went to the home searched the deck for blood but didn't see any. However, they did notice that the gate had a broken picket but the resident said she locked the dog inside the deck and blocked the gate with large flower pots to keep the dog from escaping.
Deputies said the deck was wet and had visible drag stains where she had just recently moved the flower pots.
A neighbor on the street told the deputy that he had seen another neighbor's children shoot birds with a pellet rifle.
Dispatch then notified the deputy of an animal complaint call that came in about an hour earlier. The animal control officer said they went to the neighborhood after receiving a complaint from a neighbor about a brown dog barking and chasing his children.
The animal control officer went to the area but didn't find a dog.
The deputy used his Bloodhound named Georgia to see if they could pick up a scent trail. Georgia led them to a neighbor's home. The resident who lived there came outside to talk with the deputies.
Deputies noticed the cameras outside of his home. Deputies reviewed the footage and saw a clip where his children were walking in the direction of Reese's home.
In the video, the neighbor' son, Phillip Stout was holding a pellet rifle. Deputies said in the incident report you could then see Philip in the video running back with a stick. Authorities said the neighbor admitted that his son shot the dog in his yard and claimed the dog was being aggressive. He told deputies it happened before animal control arrived.
The pellet rifle was turned over to deputies and Stout was taken to jail for a cruelty to animals charge.
