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BY KEN KOSKY
kkosky@nwitimes.com
219.548.4354 | Wednesday, October 11, 2006 | (No comments posted.)
MORGAN TOWNSHIP | A man was arrested after police said he went to his mother's Morgan Township home and did some target shooting, then shot two dogs belonging to the neighbor and pointed a gun at the neighbor.
Arrested Sunday afternoon on a felony criminal recklessness charge was John Stasak, 36, of Portage.
One of the dogs he's accused of shooting, an American bull terrier named Jinx, has a bullet lodged in her brain. The other dog, an Australian cattle dog/bull terrier mix named Kow, suffered paw, neck and chest wounds. Both dogs remained alive as of Tuesday, said their owner, Ray Stone, of 402 E. County Road 300 South.
Police said the incident began when Stasak went to his mother's home at 398 E. County Road 300 South and used his mother's gun to fire shots into an empty milk container. Stasak told police he then put the gun away, at which time three neighbor dogs attacked him. Police said Stasak suffered scratches on his left hand and left leg.
Stasak told police he retrieved his mother's gun, went to the neighbor's yard and shot two dogs in self-defense after they charged him. Police said Stasak doesn't have a gun permit.
Stone, however, said Stasak began the trouble by target shooting and upsetting his dogs. Stone told police he asked Stasak to stop shooting so the dogs wouldn't be frightened, but Stasak just laughed.
Stone told police Stasak fired more shots and his dogs became so upset they broke through their gate and ran toward the noise. He told police he chased after his dogs, which were backing Stasak toward his mother's house, and got the dogs to return home.
Stone told police Stasak returned, announced he was going to shoot the dogs, and shot two dogs. But Stone said the two dogs Stasak shot were not even the dogs who had approached Stasak. Stone also said he tried to get the police involved before the shooting of the dogs, but Stasak said an expletive and pointed the gun at him.
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