Moberly man charged after shooting pit bull in December

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Moberly man was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor on Friday after he allegedly admitted to shooting and killing a pit bull in December.

Joshua Kendall was charged with driving while revoked and misdemeanor animal abuse. A criminal summons was issued on Monday and an arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 19.  

The probable cause statement says a Randolph County deputy was called on Dec 4 to the 1100 block of County Road 1220 for a report of a dog being shot. The owner of the dog was seen in the area and was upset, so the deputy brought Kendall to his patrol vehicle.

The deputy found the dog with an “obvious gunshot wound in the front of its head, but was still alive enough that it was suffering,” the statement says. The deputy then shot it once.

Kendall alleged told the officer that he was driving in his SUV when the dog allegedly tried to jump in an open window and began barking and snarling at his wife, the statement says. Kendall then decided to get out of his vehicle and shoot the dog because he thought I was going to attack his wife and child, the statement says.

The deputy wrote that he did not see “clear dog prints or markings in the dirt on the vehicle that were consistent with a dog jumping onto the SUV.”

“After listening to Kendall's account, it appears he placed himself into a position where he was liable to be attacked by the dog. Kendall and his family were safe from the dog while they were inside the vehicle he was driving,” the deputy wrote in the probable cause statement. “Although Kendall said he was concerned about the dog chasing their vehicle up the roadway, it appears he should have stayed inside the vehicle, instead of trying to chase it back to where it's owner was.

“When Kendall purposely exited his vehicle, he placed himself into a position to be bitten by a dog instead of staying safely in his vehicle, which resulted in him using deadly force to protect himself.”