Five months after a dog was shot and killed, charges have been filed against a man who law enforcement says admitted to the deed. The incident unfolded on May 17, when the Pacific County 911 Communications Center received a call that shots were fired on Main Street in Bay Center.

The Pacific County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene at 12:29 p.m. and located a deceased dog, Dante, on a leash in a fenced yard. Deputy Dustin Akker located what he believed was a deformed rifle pellet in the dog’s skull. The dog’s owner reportedly tried to “dig out the pellet” before Akker was on scene.

Akker handled a previous incident with the man, identified as John Will, 74, in which he made previous threats and “mentioned shooting the dogs.” The dogs’ owners also have photographs of remnants of fireworks thrown into their yard.

According to court documents, after interviewing the dog owners, including acquiring a photo of Will pointing a BB gun toward their property, Akker responded to Will’s residence and spoke with his wife. Will was reportedly out riding an ATV with his granddaughter and was not available.

“I asked her about the incident and our previous conversation,” Akker stated in court documents. “She recalled the incident and acknowledged her husband’s prior threat to shoot the dog during that conversation. She denied knowledge of the dog being shot and stated they did not own a firearm, but mentioned Mr. Will had purchased a BB gun.”

“She retrieved the BB gun, which matched the one depicted in the photograph provided by the [dog owners], showing Mr. Will pointing a pistol in the direction of Dante’s doghouse,” Akker added.

Will reportedly returned while Akker was at his residence and denied any involvement in shooting Dante and that he “did not own a rifle.” However, he reportedly stated he offered the sheriff $10,000 to kill the dog, had bought the BB gun on purpose, that the BB gun was ineffective and had tried to borrow a gun.

“Mr. Will admitted to throwing fireworks at the dogs when they barked, stating something to the effect of ‘if his neighbors didn’t have to quiet their dogs then he did not have to be quiet,” Akker stated.

According to court documents, Scott Johnson, a former sheriff of Pacific County and owner of Johnson and Sons’ Excavation, was conducting work in the area with a crew. One of his crew members told Akker that Will had stated to him, “I took care of the dog problem.”

Other witnesses in the area told Akker that they heard gunshots the “night before.”

“I later recovered a bullet from Dante’s skull,” Akker stated. “The bullet had fractured and entered the skull but failed to exit fully. It appears to be a .22 caliber round with clear rifling imprints on its sides.”

The Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Will on Oct. 29 for first-degree animal cruelty and unlawfully discharging a firearm. The Pacific County Superior Court issued a summons on Oct. 30 ordering him to appear Nov. 21 for arraignment.