KENT, Wash. — A 64-year-old Des Moines man accused of fatally shooting his neighbor’s dog in front of the family’s 11-year-old daughter appeared before a judge Thursday morning.
Curtis Leroy Madden and his attorney appeared before a judge at the Kent Regional Justice Center via a Zoom meeting to answer charges of animal cruelty and reckless endangerment. Madden’s lawyer entered a plea of not guilty.
Court documents provided by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office say that on Jan. 12, Madden shot the dog twice on a Des Moines street. The 11-year-old girl who witnessed her family’s dog being killed told police she thought Madden was going to shoot her.
Earlier this month, KIRO 7 spoke with the family of the dog, a boxer named Tyson, that Madden is accused of killing.
The grandmother of the 11-year-old girl said after Madden shot the dog once, Tyson limped back to girl and was followed by Madden, who yelled an obscenity and shot the dog a second time.
According to court documents, Madden admitted the dog did not attack him or his own dog and he expressed no remorse over shooting and killing the animal.
The court ordered Madden to stay away from his neighbors, who live a few blocks from his home. Given that Madden is charged with animal cruelty, prosecutors asked that he surrender any animals, but Judge Veronica Galvan ruled that Madden was allowed to keep his own dog, but not obtain any new animals.