Bond set at $400,000 in dog shooting; 21 weapons confiscated
The Grayslake-area man accused of shooting a dog outside his home was ordered held on $400,000 bond Saturday.
Elvin Dooley, 57, also must surrender the 21 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition that police confiscated when they arrested him for the crime.
The dog, a black chow mix, was abandoned in the parking lot of the Save-A-Pet No-Kill Adoption Center sometime on Tuesday, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Marc Bangser said.
But before center employees could coax the dog inside, Bangser said, it ran off, with manager Dana Deutsch in pursuit.
Deutsch told police she was behind the dog in her car as it ran through a field near Townline and Fairfield roads when she heard a gunshot.
Police said Deutsch looked over at Dooley’s house in the 24000 block of Townline Road and saw a man holding a rifle with a scope mounted on it and aiming at the dog from a window.
Deutsch told police she heard two more shots as she ran to the house and confronted the man she later identified as Dooley.
Dooley retreated into the house, police said, and Deutsch took the dog to the Animal Emergency and Treatment Center in Grayslake with the help of some Round Lake public works employees who happened onto the scene.
Bangser said the dog died of a bullet wound that passed through its neck.
Sheriff’s police went to Dooley’s house and arrested him Friday on a felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals.
Bangser said there were several shell casings found inside the house, and police seized 6,000 rounds of rifle ammunition and a large quantity of handgun ammunition from the basement and detached garage.
Dooley also led police to a friend’s house where they found 19 rifles, one of which was loaded, and two handguns that Dooley said were his, Bangser said.
Dooley served a prison term for a 1974 burglary conviction in Alabama, Bangser said, and was also imprisoned in West Virginia for burglary in 1996.
Additional charges of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon and possession of a weapon without a state Firearms Owner’s Identification card were filed against Dooley.
Bangser said Dooley initially denied he had been shooting when questioned by police, then said he had been shooting at some cans and was unaware he had hit a dog.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 260-pound Dooley limped into bond court Saturday from the jail holding area and told Associate Judge Daniel Shanes he suffers from severe diabetic neuropathy.
Dooley told Shanes he works part time at a hardware store but expects to be unemployed soon.
“From what I have heard about the publicity, I doubt they will want me back,” Dooley said.
Shanes appointed the Lake County public defender’s office to represent him and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Feb. 18.
Shanes also set a hearing for a review of Dooley’s bond, which requires him to post $40,000 in cash to be released, for Feb. 4.
Bangser said additional charges could be filed after a review of the case by a grand jury.
Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.
8:22 pm
I hope they nail this trash. What a waste of a human being.
11:02 pm
KARMA….
11:29 pm
Justice is being served for this poor dog.As a supporter of Sav A Pet, we are all deeply saddened by this event. Cruelty to animals will not be tolerated. To all at the shelter, thank you for what you do and the love you give the animals. We love our addition from the shelter and can’t imagine our lives without him. RIP “Justice puppy” We cared and we’re fighting for you!
1:12 am
The more I read about this story, the more I am amazed that Dana didn’t get shot, especially now that we know the rest of the story. Thank you to Save a Pet for making sure this story is getting heard in the media.
1:32 pm
Wow. Dana is so lucky she was not shot too. With this guy having these convictions and medical diagnosis, how was he able to obtain all these weapons and a FOID card??????? To think I live less then 5 minutes and always am cycling down this road. Wow!!!
10:19 am
What a loser this guy is. I hope he is tried in court, found guilty and serves the maximum jail time. Throw the entire book at him: weapons violations, felony animal abuse… everything they can find and use against him.
10:20 pm
What a pity – you’re going to get better treatment than that dog did. Jerk.
1:22 pm
It was public outcry that got this piece of trash arrested; if Justice is to get justice it will be through the public keeping pressure on the state’s attorney and showing up for court dates.
11:21 am
That is sickening. I hope justice prevails and that SOB is nailed. What kind of sick individual would shoot an innocent life for NO GOOD REASON.
12:27 pm
‘what a worthless piece of sh*t, how is this piece of trash have that much ammo and that many guns??? I hope they lock him up for a long time, or someone takes him out back and shoots him…the senseless violence in our society is ridiculous
2:15 am
I hope he is punished to full extent of the law. Is he so stupid that he does not know if you want to shoot dogs with impunity you have to be a LEO?
2:51 pm
Don’t be so hard on the guy. He put the poor little mutt out of his misery. Call it a mercy kill.
7:16 pm
Response to “YouFags” message: You need to be put out of your misery along with the man that killed the dog! You need help bad. Bad karma you have. Hope you can live with it.
12:08 am
I need to know who to contact about a dog shooting. I was coon hunting this weekend when my dog crossed on to posted property when I heard a gun shot from the house, my dog came back with a 22 bullet hole in his leg. He is ok but I pay taxes on this dog, do I have a case and who do I talk to about it? I live in WV and do not know the laws on dog shootings.
12:08 am
I need to know who to contact about a dog shooting. I was coon hunting this weekend when my dog crossed on to posted property when I heard a gun shot from the house, my dog came back with a 22 bullet hole in his leg. He is ok but I pay taxes on this dog, do I have a case and who do I talk to about it? I live in WV and do not know the laws on dog shootings.