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Gwinnett County man arrested after shooting dog caught in trap

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Published  November 21, 2024 10:36pm EST
Gwinnett County
FOX 5 Atlanta

Man accused of shooting dog in trap

A Gwinnett County man has been accused of trapping and shooting a dog. He claims the dog was after his cat.

The Brief

    • Richard Hart, a Duluth homeowner, allegedly shot a husky stuck in a trap on his property, claiming it killed one of his cats.
    • Gwinnett County Police say Hart hired a professional to set traps but acted unlawfully by shooting the trapped dog instead of contacting animal control.
    • Hart faces multiple charges, including aggravated animal cruelty and firearm possession as a convicted felon, and was released on $18,400 bond.

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A Gwinnett County homeowner is charged with shooting and killing a dog stuck in a trap on his property. It happened Wednesday afternoon on the 3000 block of Citrus Drive in Duluth. Police say the man told officers he shot the dog, even after it was trapped, because he believed it killed one of his cats.

ORIGINAL STORY: Gwinnett County man charged in deadly shooting of trapped dog

Police bodycam video shows the moment an officer confronted the homeowner. "I’d appreciate you're being honest with me. I don’t like being lied to, okay?" the officer said.

The homeowner appeared to confess. The officer asked, "Did you shoot the dog?" The homeowner responded, "Yeah."

Gwinnett County police say Richard Hart told them he hired a professional to set traps on his property. "It just so happens that a dog got caught in one of them," said Cpl. Juan Madiedo with the Gwinnett County Police Department.

The homeowner told the officer a dog was terrorizing his cats. "He was coming after my cat," Hart said. "I had one of them that was described very similar to this one that killed my cat over there."

Police say animal control confirmed a husky was stuck in a trap. "The dog was already captured in the trap. At that point, he was not chasing anything," Madiedo said. "Rather than contact the trapper first or contact animal control, he just shot the dog."

The officer asked the homeowner for his weapon. "Where is the gun at right now that you used? Is it inside?" the officer asked. Hart then changed his story. "I didn’t shoot the damn dog." The officer said, "You already told me you shot the dog, okay?" Hart responded, "I want to retract that statement." The officer replied, "That’s not how it works."

The officer arrested Hart. "To just take it upon yourself and shoot a dog in the trap, no, you cannot do that," Madiedo said.

A neighbor, who did not want to reveal his identity, said he had never heard of nuisance dogs on his block. "No, we don’t have any," the neighbor said.

He now worries about his children’s safety. "It’s very unsettling. I never thought he was capable of actions just kind of disturbing," the neighbor said.

It is illegal to kill a domestic animal. "If you do have traps and a domestic animal is out there, trapped in one of them, it could be a crime if you dispatch that animal," Madiedo said. "Please, if you have traps on your property and it just so happens that a domestic animal is captured in one of these traps, call us out there."

Hart faces several charges, including aggravated cruelty to animals, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of certain felonies, and reckless conduct.

He was released from the Gwinnett County Jail on a bond of $18,400.