First-degree animal cruelty charge filed in dog shooting death
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed a first-degree animal cruelty charge and reckless endangerment charge against a Des Moines man for the shooting death of a dog in front of the 11-year-old girl who owned him. The girl told police that she thought the defendant was pointing the gun towards her before he shot her dog a second time, and she was fearful that she too would be shot.
This is the first animal cruelty case filed in 2022, and first-degree animal cruelty is the most serious charge of animal cruelty we can file under state law.
The defendant’s arraignment, where a plea is entered, is scheduled for Jan. 27 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. He was booked into SCORE and is expected to be transferred to the King County Jail. No previous cases involving the defendant have been referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
In 2021, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed 21 animal cruelty cases. While that is a slight decrease from the number of cases referred to us and filed in 2020, we’re still filing higher than usual numbers since the start of the pandemic. Animal cruelty cases are among the most serious and disturbing cases handled we handle, and holding people accountable for animal abuse is a priority for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Here are the numbers by year:
2021: 21 animal cruelty cases
2020: 25 animal cruelty cases
2019: 9 animal cruelty cases
2018: 10 animal cruelty cases
These numbers are separate from animal fighting cases, which is charged as a separate crime. There was one of those cases in 2021, two of those cases in 2020, one case in 2019 and no animal fighting cases in 2018.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has worked with staff from the Seattle Animal Shelter to share information about how the public can help.
How you can help:
- The Seattle Animal Shelter’s Amazon wish list: https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1ZBKOUMN0333D?ref%5F=cm%5Fsw%5Fem%5Fr%5Fz%5Fg%5F%5Fwb&pldnSite=1
- The Seattle Animal Shelter foundation: https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/SeattleAnimalShelterFoundat/donate.html
- If you see a life in danger, animals or humans, call 911. If you have information that does not need immediate help, contact the Seattle Animal Shelter at 206–386-PETS (206–386–7387). In other parts of King County you can call the King County Regional Animal Shelter at 206–296–7387 (PETS).
For all case types — animal cruelty, domestic violence, shooting cases — police agencies are the investigative arm. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office does not by law have investigative authority, but we review cases when referred to us from law enforcement. We will continue to independently review cases referred to us for timely case filings, and we will continue our focus on holding defendants accountable before a jury.
This post, published the afternoon of Jan. 13, 2022, is not expected to be updated. Updates on the case can be found in the Electronic Court Records system using case number 22–1–01414–4.
