MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A southern Oregon man has pleaded not guilty to animal abuse charges alleging he shot a woman’s dog with a BB gun pistol.
The Mail Tribune reported that 46-year-old Joseph Gima also pleaded not guilty Monday to criminal mischief.
Prosecutors allege Gima shot a 5-year-old yellow lab mix named Etta at least twice — once through her right eye and again in the neck — in the back of a pickup truck in a Walmart parking lot last month.
Police said Gima admitted he shot the dog, claiming she bit him as he reached in the truck bed to pet her.
