Michael Henley
A St. Elmo man has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty after beating his dog to death with a shoe.
Michael Henley, 33, of 1306 W. 53rd St., said the dog would not obey and then bit him.
Police went to the scene last Tuesday after Travis Chandler called to say his roommate was beating his dog with a shoe.
The officer said after entering the house he saw blood splattered on the far corner of the room on the wall. He also saw two shoes lying near the blood.
He said he also spotted an AR-15 rifle, "which indicated I may be dealing with a hostile person, possibly armed."
The officer said he began to clear the house and Henley hollered from a far bedroom that his hands were up. He said four other firearms and various ammunition were in the bedroom.
Henley said he was outside and gave a command to his dog, which was ignored. He said when he reached down to put Cocoa inside, the dog bit him on the right hand. Police said there was a bite mark on his hand.
Henley stated "he was not going to feed and care for a dog that did not obey so he decided to put the dog down and kill it. Henley stated he did not have a phone so he could not call anyone, and he did not know a better way to kill the dog than to beat it to death with the shoe."