Man accused of shooting dog near Washington playground
Animal recovering after being wounded in the back
A man is accused of shooting a dog near a playground in Washington before stuffing it in a garbage bag and leaving it for dead.
The little white dog survived the incident and is being treated at an emergency veterinary hospital for a gunshot wound to its back, while the alleged shooter is jailed on animal cruelty charges.
Andrew Ricardo Banner, 52, is facing felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and conspiracy of aggravated cruelty to animals causing serious bodily injury, along with associated misdemeanor counts.
Washington police said they received a 911 call about 9 p.m. Thursday for gunshots fired in the 700 block of Broad Street near the Eighth Ward Playground in the city. Another caller reported that a man had shot a dog and it was lying near the fence in his yard, according to court documents.
When police officers arrived, Banner and a woman he was with gave police conflicting stories about what had happened, leading investigators to speak to one of the neighbors who called 911. That person reported seeing a dog wrapped in a trash bag near a fence at 766 ½ Broad St., and could hear the animal whimpering, police said.
Officers went back to speak to Banner and saw a white trash bag in the yard, asking him what was in it before going over to check on its contents, court documents state. Banner picked the bag up and then set it back on the ground, police said, before pulling the dog out of it.
Police said the “small white dog” was still alive but bleeding from a gunshot wound to its back. Banner allegedly told officers that he asked a friend to “shoot the dog because it was sick,” according to court documents. The other person has not been identified or charged in connection with the shooting, although the neighbor told police he saw two men walk off the back porch and shoot the dog before returning inside, investigators said.
Banner was arrested Thursday night and arraigned early Friday by District Judge Gary Havelka, who ordered him to be held at the Washington County jail on $25,000 cash bond ahead of his preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for Oct. 6 at 10:30 a.m.
The condition of the dog at the emergency vet in Peters Township and its prognosis were not immediately known Friday afternoon.