MARYVILLE, Tenn. — A Maryville man is accused of shooting his neighbor's dog with a BB gun.
According to court records, Michael Richter, 59, is charged with two counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, and one count of aggravated cruelty to animals.
A Blount County Sheriff's Office deputy said in a report that they were called to Valley View Road on May 3 at around 2:30 p.m. after receiving a report of someone creating a disturbance with a weapon.
When deputies arrived, a witness told them she saw Richter standing in his backyard, which was connected to hers, and she watched him shoot her dog.
The dog was standing near a chicken coop in the yard, which was about 25 feet away from the fence that separated her backyard from Richter's, the report said.
The neighbor said she and another person were about ten feet from the dog when it was shot and wounded on its right, front leg. She told deputies she discovered a pellet in the dog's leg.
Deputies said they weren't able to get ahold of Richter after the shooting but issued warrants for his arrest. Richter was arrested at his home around 7:30 p.m. that day.
According to the report, Richter told deputies he wasn't home at the time of the shooting, but when he got home around 4 p.m. that day, he took a shot of vodka.
"Michael was mirandized and stated he returned home from work around 16:00 hours and he had drank approximately 1.5 ounces of vodka," the deputy said in the report. "He stated he has never spoken to those neighbors, and he did not commit those crimes."
Deputies said they searched his backyard but didn't find any shell casings. The report said Richter's family member gave deputies permission to take a 9mm handgun, bullets, a magazine, and a BB gun into evidence.
Richter is due in court on May 20.