BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
LAKE BUTLER— A Union County jury acquitted a 26-year-old Providence man on charges related to the defendant shooting a neighbor’s dog in November 2022.
Frederick Austin Carter was found not guilty for the recreational discharge of a firearm in a residential area and for animal cruelty.
The trial involved the shooting of a Blue Heeler puppy, much discussed on local social media sites.
9-month-old puppy survived
According to the warrant affidavit, Carter was outside his residence in an outbuilding, searching for a staple gun when the dog, which had gotten through the fence from the neighboring property, approached him and tried to bite him.
He said he entered the outbuilding, removed an AR15 556 NATO rifle from its case, and then shot the dog as it was running away toward its owner’s property. It is noted in the affidavit that he fired the shot in the direction of that property, as well as that home’s neighbors. The dog was hit in the left side, with the bullet exiting through the animal’s right shoulder.
The call for law enforcement came from the father of the dog’s owner, Jim Rooney, and his daughter, Mistee Fry, the puppy’s owner. They had retrieved the injured dog from Carter’s property across the street and, on arrival, the deputy saw the dog on its owner’s property, lying on its side panting and bleeding from what appeared to be the exit wound in its right shoulder. The owners admitted that the dog had a history of getting through the fence and that they had tried to repair the wire livestock fence to prevent it.
Carter also stated that the dog coming to his property was an ongoing issue but denied that he had ever reported the issue to animal control.
The dog was transported to the University of Florida Emergency Veterinary Clinic in Gainesville, as it was the only place the owner knew of that was open on Sunday. The nine-month-old puppy was treated and survived the incident.
Lunged, showed teeth, and tried to bite
On Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, the case was heard before the Honorable Judge Mitchell Bishop. Bruce Helling prosecuted the State’s case, while the defendant was represented by Travis Koon.
In his opening remarks, Helling told the jury that the shooting of the animal was unnecessary, and that the firearm was discharged recklessly or negligently.
Koon then made his opening remarks, stating that the prosecution “can’t give a complete picture” of the occurrence “because they were not there.”
He said that the dog lunged at his client, showed its teeth, and attempted to bite him, then ran away and circled the building and that he was afraid that he was about to be bitten and felt it was necessary to shoot the animal.
Bandit was just a playful puppy
The prosecution called its first witness, dog owner Mistee Fry who stated that the dog, named Bandit, was just a playful puppy who spent most of his time in the house. She was outside and saw the dog running towards her, then heard the shot and saw the dog fall. Cross-examination by the defense revealed that she did not see the interaction between the dog and Carter.
Next called was James Rooney, Fry’s father, who testified that he heard the shot and came out of his room to his tearful daughter.
He crossed the fence to retrieve the dog, about 15 feet away, and saw Carter outside the outbuilding, standing on the building’s concrete pad. After handing the dog over the fence to his son-in-law, he called out to Carter, who answered, “I’m sorry, he tried to bite me.”
The State then called Chase Fry and questioned him about his knowledge of the incident. Fry said he was inside the house, heard the shot, and exited the residence when Rooney did. He crossed the fence and saw the dog lying down and in distress. He said he also heard Rooney and Carter talking but did not recall anything specific about what was being said. He also said he knew Carter, but only in passing.
The final witness for the prosecution was Union County Sheriff’s Office Deputy James Jankowski. He said he answered an animal shooting call and, upon arrival, found several family members standing around the animal, which had blood on it and a wound that was covered. He said he contacted Carter and then spoke with him at his outbuilding. He stated that Carter was very cooperative and said that the dog had tried to bite him and that he had gotten his AR-15 out of its case and shot the animal as it was running away from him toward the fence.
The deputy said Carter showed no signs of injury and saw no evidence of any contact with the dog. He also noted that there were several homes “in the line of fire.”
Koon cross-examined the deputy and questioned whether he was qualified to identify the entrance and exit wounds on the animal, to which Jankowski replied that the exit wound was usually larger than the entry wound. In a redirect questioning from Helling, the deputy said he had seen a few bullet wounds in his years of service and was confident in his judgment on the dog’s wound. He also said Carter had told him the dog was running away when it was shot.
Defendant takes the stand
The State rested its case, and Koon called his first and only witness, Carter himself.
The defendant stated that he did not know the Frys and did not know who owned the dog. He said that the dog came running up behind him, first growling and then barking, then lunging and trying to bite the back of his legs. He said he was afraid, had never been bitten before, and felt it necessary to shoot the dog. He said he was sorry he shot the dog and had never shot any animal before.
In summation, the State told the court that the circumstances led to the criminal charges, not the actual occurrences. Helling said there was no evidence that the dog tried to bite Carter and that it was a rambunctious puppy, at most, trying to play. He concluded there was no reason to shoot the dog when it ran away.
In his summation, Koon told the jury to be “very aware” of half-truths and whether or not the State had proven its case. He also stated that Carter had never done anything like this before the incident.
After about an hour of deliberation, the jury returned its verdict of not guilty on both charges, and Carter was free to go.
