MIDWAY, Utah — A Wasatch County man has been charged after being accused of dragging a neighbor's dog into the road before shooting and killing it over the weekend.
Rodrik Storms has officially been charged with Aggravated Cruelty to an Animal and Possession of a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Assault, both misdemeanors.
On Saturday, Blue, a Bernese Mountain Dog, was at a neighbor's home in Midway when Storms allegedly grabbed the dog by the scruff of its neck and dragged him into the street. As the neighbor saw Storms pull out a pistol, the neighbor yelled for him to stop.
However, Storms allegedly put the gun to Blue's head and fired his gun.
The dog's owners were out of town during the incident.
According to court documents, after the shooting, Storms told the neighbor "that Blue had been a problem long enough and he took care of it."
Storms, who lives across the street from Blue's owners and their neighbors, had ongoing issues with the dog for years. The neighbors told Wasatch County Sheriff's Office deputies that Blue would bark at pedestrians and cyclists nearby, but was not aggressive. They added that Storms had often tried to get Blue to chase him onto the road so he could report the dog to animal control.
During an interview with deputies, Storms "expressed frustration that very little has been done to address the problem" regarding his contacting animal control about Blue.
Storms claimed that the dog "went after" an elderly couple that day.
During his confrontation with Blue, Storms told deputies that he went to grab something from a pack around his waist to document the incident when the dog "came straight at him." That's when he said he grabbed a pistol and shot him in the head.
An investigation showed that while Storms did not physically remove Blue from the property, there was also no evidence that the dog had attacked Storms.
