A woman accused of shooting her boyfriend’s dog is currently in custody, according to local law enforcement. The 32-year-old Illinois woman faces a felony charge after the alleged shooting took place. She is currently awaiting trial in a county jail, and her bail has been set at $25,000.
The details of this alleged assault have not been fully fleshed out by the report, but it has been confirmed that the woman allegedly shot the pit bull in the face and paw with a .22 caliber rifle. It is unclear whether the woman was acting in self-defense, as much of the context of the alleged attack has not been publicized. However, police noted that the dog was locked in a kennel at the time of the supposed attack.
It should be noted that, while the woman has faced charges related to animals in the past, two of the three charges were dismissed and the third, a citation for an animal at large, does not pertain to violence against animals. It is unknown if the woman’s boyfriend was in any way involved in this supposed altercation, though it is likely that police have questioned him about the details. So far, no trial date has been set in this case.
The details of this case are too sparse to make an accurate guess as to how the trial will play out. Illinois prosecutors will have to prove that the woman was not acting in self-defense and that the alleged shots fired were not unfortunate accidents if a felony charge is to be pressed. The defense will likely want to cross-examine the boyfriend and anyone else involved in the alleged altercation to gain a clearer picture of how events played out before constructing a defense strategy.
Source: bnd.com, “Fairview Heights woman accused of shooting dog”, Beth Hundsdorfer, Sept. 8, 2014