Both he and the owner of the property on which he lives maintained the dog was aggressive toward them, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Kevin James McClenithan, 46, was charged with animal cruelty and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The Sheriff’s Office stated McClenithan had an October 2012 conviction for felony burglary on his record.
Deputies said they received a call shortly before 10 p.m. Friday about an animal problem. Deputies arrived at 14947 W. State Road 100 and spoke to the dog owner, Jeanne Durrance, who said her puppy got loose and ran across the street to the property where McClenithan lives. Durrance said McClenithan shot the dog and she found it inside a fenced-in area next to his house, according to an arrest report.
Deputies spoke to the property owner, Marsha Roach, who said the dog became aggressive while on her property and she contained it by locking the fence. She left for work, came back home and waited for McClenithan to return to the house. He tried to remove the dog from the fenced-in area but couldn’t because the dog was still aggressive, according to McClenithan’s statements to the Sheriff’s Office.
“At no time was law enforcement called about the aggressive dog nor was law enforcement called by (McClenithan or Roach) about the incident,” wrote Deputy Erik Pedersen in his arrest report.
Pedersen also stated neither McClenithan nor Roach was bitten by the dog.
The shotgun used in the shooting was confiscated and a shotgun shell casing located near the front door of Roach’s home also was collected for evidence, deputies said.
As of Monday afternoon, McClenithan remained behind bars at the Flagler County Detention Facility in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Friday’s incident has similarities to another animal cruelty case from July 2012. Richard Marier, a former Flagler County School Board member, was arrested on felony animal cruelty and weapons charges after fatally stabbing his neighbor’s dog after it had run onto his property and acted aggressively toward his own dog.
The charges were eventually reduced to misdemeanor and eventually dropped after Marier’s defense attorney announced he was prepared to use a 100-year-old Florida statute called the “good defense for killing dog” law, which gives a pet or livestock owner the legal right to use force against a dog that is acting aggressively toward his or her animals.
Nothing in Friday’s arrest report indicates whether McClenithan or Roach had an animal on the property.
(News Journal - May 4, 2015)
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