An investigation into the shooting of a 6-year-old Siberian Husky named Zeus in Stafford in March has led to an arrest, according to state police.
An investigation into the shooting of a 6-year-old Siberian Husky named Zeus in Stafford in March has led to an arrest, according to state police.
Nearly 8 months later, Zeus is doing well. His owner, Nicholas Denunzio, said Zeus had a hard recovery, but he is doing much better.
Police started investigating in April when they received a report that a dog had been shot twice in the face on Collette Road West in Stafford.
Denunzio said he and his dog had quite a scare.
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"He left the premises of our property for four minutes and in those four minutes, he got shot," Denunzio said. "When I found out, I did not believe it."
On Tuesday afternoon, state police arrested 48-year-old Christopher Joseph, of Stafford.
Police said Joseph initially told investigators that he had been setting off fireworks and did not say he went to his neighbor’s property and shot a gun.
But video showed Joseph on the property, raising what appeared to be a gun and firing it, according to the arrest warrant.
During the investigation, police said, they found several unsecured firearms in the home that Joseph shares with several children between the ages of 5 and 15.
Joseph has been charged with illegal discharge of a firearm and five counts of risk of injury to a minor.
State police said the statute requires that criminal intent must be established to substantiate probable cause for cruelty to animals charges.
As intent could not be established here, the suspect was charged for unlawful discharge of a firearm.
Denunzio said his family is glad that police arrested a suspect.
"I am glad they caught him, I hope everybody finds out that the dog is OK," he said.
"No animal deserves to be shot," he added.
After recovering, Zeus is back to being his normal lovable, goofy self.
"When you are not playing with him, he just wants to lie down and chill out. He is always doing something goofy," Denunzio said.
The suspect was released from custody on a $50,000 bond and he is scheduled to appear at Rockville Superior Court on Nov. 19.
