On May 13, Nickelson Lee Showalter, 31, of Appomattox, pleaded guilty to one charge of misdemeanor animal cruelty and received a 12-month suspended sentence.

A summary of the evidence presented in court states that on Oct. 25, 2020, Showalter returned home and heard a neighbor’s dog barking off in the distance. Believing that the dog was among a pack of dogs who had previously attacked his own dog, he retrieved his gun and shot the dog.

The dog survived and is doing quite well, according to Appomattox Commonwealth’s Attorney Les Fleet. But treatment of its injuries required $2,000 of medical expenses, for which Showalter already paid.

According to the stated evidence, the neighbor whose dog had been shot does not believe the dog was involved in the aforementioned attack on Showalter’s dog and that it was a case of mistaken identity.

As a condition of the suspended sentence, Showalter must adhere to two years of good behavior, stay off the neighbor’s property and not discharge a firearm on his own property. The firearm is to be returned to Showalter.

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