A Mountain Brook man faces felony animal abuse charges after police say he fatally choked his three pet Labrador Retrievers.

A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted Ashby Nickell Boulware II, 41, on three counts of first-degree animal cruelty. The indictments were issued in December but made public today. Efforts to reach Boulware's attorney weren't immediately successful.

Mountain Brook police Lt. Chuck Clark said officers were called to a home in the 3300 block of North Woodridge Road on Nov. 18, 2014 on a report of three dead dogs. When officers arrived on the scene, there was a woman yelling for Boulware to come outside and tell officers what he did, Clark said.

"He said he killed three dogs because God told him to do so,'' Clark said. Officers then went into the backyard and found the three slain Labrador Retrievers.

Boulware was taken into custody and, after being read his rights, confessed to the crimes, Clark said. A veterinary pathologist performed the necropsies and said the findings were consistent with Boulware's statement that he choked the dogs to death with a leash.

Mountain Brook police in May of 2015 obtained the aggravated cruelty to animal warrants against Boulware. He was jailed in Mountain Brook and then the Jefferson County Jail. County jail records show he was booked in on May 9, 2015 and released the same day after posting $15,000 bond.

Clark said he couldn't comment on Boulware's whereabouts after he was released from jail because of potential HIPAA violations.

The indictments were handed down on Dec. 11, 2015. No trial date has yet been set.