Patrick Byrnes, 32, pleaded not guilty April 12 to charges of cruelty to animals and discharging a firearm within city limits. He has a pretrial conference scheduled May 12.
Idaho Falls Police Department spokeswoman Joelyn Hansen said officers responded at about 7:30 p.m. on April 1 to a weapons offense call on the 300 block of North Bellin Road.
Officers found that Byrnes is reported to have shot a pit bull named Jack once, killing the dog.
Byrnes told the officers that the dog was being aggressive and bit him. Hansen said Byrnes had scratches on his forearm but no [obvious] bite marks.
Officers found one spent cartridge from a single-action .44 Magnum revolver at the scene.
Hansen said firing a gun within city limits can be a felony offense but that charging decision largely falls to an officer’s discretion.
“The officers thought (a misdemeanor) would be suitable for this situation,” she said.
Witnesses told officers the dog was not acting aggressive and no one saw the dog bite Byrnes, Hansen said.
In a video clip, owner Chandalee Beck says that after Byrnes shot the pit bull, the dog "turned and went to get help from the same man who had shot him". I'm sure Byrnes would say that the dog was relentless and continued to try to attack him.
The dog’s owner, Marcus Beck, said his son was retrieving a ball and Jack followed him and got out into the street where he was shot. Beck said as a father, seeing his dog die felt like losing a child.
“My main goal as a father is to protect my family, and here I sit losing a family member,” Beck said.
Beck said the family got Jack about three years ago and that the dog was not aggressive.
“I 100 percent believe he was shot just because he’s a pit bull,” Beck said. “He (Byrnes) may as well have shot one of my children … it’s just cold-blooded murder, that’s how I feel about it honestly.”
Beck said he hopes some notoriety is brought to this incident. He said perhaps changes could come to state statutes that make animal cruelty a felony offense.
Byrnes’ attorney, Allen Browning, said his client was defending himself and that the dog cornered him in his Jeep. Browning said Byrnes tried to get the dog to leave but was unable to.
“They should have kept the dog in the house, it’s outrageous to let a pit bull run loose in a neighborhood,” Browning said.
Byrnes is an Afghanistan War veteran and was trained to use the pistol he shot, Browning said.
“I don’t fault him one bit for keeping himself safe from that dog,” Browning said. “I’m proud to have people like Pat serve in military. He shouldn’t have to come back and defend himself from a neighbor’s wild pit bull.”
Idaho Code 25-3520A dictates that cruelty to an animal is a felony after a third offense within 15 years of a previous conviction.
Misdemeanor charges carry a maximum punishment of up to one year in local jail.
(Post Register - April 26, 2016)
