courthouseaimee.jpg

A 20-year-old Southeast Portland man told authorities he killed his brother's Rottweiler because it was barking all the time and kept him awake, according to court records and a prosecutor. Abel Nistor was arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon on a single allegation of first-degree aggravated animal abuse.

(Aimee Green/The Oregonian)

A 20-year-old Portland man is accused of brutally killing his brother's black Rottweiler "Leo'' using a knife, hammer and a shovel, according to court records.

Abel Nistor was seen taking the dog out into the woods near his Southeast Portland home on Monday and returned covered in blood.

"I killed the dog in the cruelest way possible, and I kind of liked it,'' he told his relatives, Deputy District Attorney Shawn M. Overstreet wrote in a probable cause affidavit released Tuesday.

Abel Nistor, 20

Nistor told authorities that the dog upset him because it was always barking and would keep him awake, according to the prosecutor.

He also warned that his family "will never find'' Leo, the affidavit said. He refused to tell authorities where he may have buried the dog.

Multnomah County sheriff's deputies found only a bloody dog collar, the affidavit said.

Nistor now is in custody, facing an allegation of first-degree aggravated animal abuse, accused of "maliciously killing'' the dog.

He was arraigned Tuesday afternoon on the single count in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Sheriff's deputies who were called out to Nistor's home in the 5100 block of Southeast Jenne Road learned that earlier Monday Nistor had abandoned the dog at an animal shelter. Relatives retrieved it and heard Nistor threaten to kill the Rottweiler, the affidavit said.

His family tried to find Nistor when he took the dog into the woods and discovered him covered in blood. When they told him he wouldn't get away with the alleged killing, he said, "I did get away with it,'' the affidavit said.

Nistor was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center at 8:50 p.m. Monday.

Once taken into custody, court officials asked him about the allegations and they wrote that he "laughed about it and did not show remorse,'' according to court documents.

He told court officials that he works as a "caretaker'' but didn't say for whom. He has no prior convictions and lives at home with his parents, a brother and a sister.

He's being held on $5,000 bail. His next court date is May 6.

--Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212; @maxoregonian