East Hampton man accused of shooting dog with BB gun ‘I’m afraid for the safety of my family’ man told police

EAST HAMPTON >> A 41-year-old resident has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty after police say he shot a dog with a BB gun in June.

Christopher S. Grant, of 23 Peach Farm Road, East Hampton, denies he intentionally shot the dog, who lives on an adjoining property. Grant told police the two dogs who live on the property “constantly bark,” and said he was shooting at squirrels and chipmunks in an effort to keep the dogs from barking.

The dogs “are very aggressive and I’m afraid for the safety of my family,” Grant told police. However, Grant said he has not called the animal control officer because, “I have tried to get along.”

Grant was arrested in mid-July, but police only released detailed information about the incident Wednesday. Police also said a similar incident occurred in April.

On June 22, police say, a local man came to headquarters to report that “his neighbor had been caught pointing a long gun at his dogs.”

The man told police that he noticed in April that Hershey “had scabs on his chest area,” according to an affidavit compiled by Officer Michael Salafia. When one of the scabs fell off, the man “noticed that a BB was in it,” according to the affidavit.

The dog’s owner said he reported the incident to the animal control officer, adding he “didn’t know how the injuries were happening.”

The man returned to headquarters on June 22 and told police that on June 19, his wife had come home, heard the dogs barking, and saw a man she identified as Grant standing next to the property line pointing a long gun at Hershey, the couple’s pit bull.

The woman yelled at Grant who “immediately walked away,” according to the affidavit. Later the same day, the husband took Hershey to the Portland Veterinary Hospital. A veterinarian on duty found “two BBs under the skin of the thorax and several other visible scars,” police said.

On June 25, police interviewed Hershey’s owners and inspected the dog.

The dog “had two hard bumps under his skin in the front chest area that could be easily found and felt,” and were consistent with the size of a standard BB round, Salafia said.

Hershey had “what looked like other marks in the chest area that could have been other BBs that didn’t penetrate the skin,” Salafia said.

The dog “also had a distinctive scar on his right shoulder that was consistent with being grazed by a BB,” Salafia said.

In the company of Sgt. Timothy Dowty, Salafia then went to Grant’s home to interview him. Grant “openly admitted” pointing a BB gun at the Hanna’s house, Salafia said.

Grant showed police his Crossman air gun Model 66 “Power Master.”

Salafia had brought one of the BBs that was found in Hershey and compared it to the BBs in Grant’s gun. They were similar, Salafia concluded.

Armed with that information — and a report from the veterinarian who inspected Hershey — Salafia was granted a warrant to arrest Grant on charges of cruelty to animals, second-degree criminal mischief and illegal discharge of a firearm.

Grant was arrested July 19. He was released after posting $1,500 bail and is due in Middletown court on Aug. 17.