Man accused of shooting girlfriend’s pit bull mix while intoxicated, investigators say
By Web Staff
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DEBARY, Florida (WESH) — A Volusia County man is accused of shooting the family dog while he was intoxicated during a domestic dispute, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect, Steven Parsons, 34, is in custody, officials said Friday.
According to the report, the incident happened late Thursday and “children were only one room away.”
Parsons, of Lake Drive in DeBary, was immediately taken into custody without incident around 9:30 p.m., officials said.
Deputies said they learned the disturbance stemmed from Parsons’ girlfriend hiding his guns from him because he was intoxicated and made a comment about using them on himself. She said Parsons became aggressive after she hid the guns, and she left the house to get away from him, the report said.
Deputies entered the house to check on the safety of two children inside, an 8-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl. They were upset, but uninjured, officials said. Deputies immediately noticed blood throughout the house, and moments later they were “greeted by a pit bull mix,” who came around a corner bleeding heavily with an apparent gunshot wound between the eyes, according to investigators.
The dog was friendly toward deputies, walking around and wagging its tail, seemingly stable and alert despite the injury, the report said.
Parsons said he shot the dog because it bit him. Parsons’ girlfriend told deputies the dog is protective of her and bit Parsons on the hand because he was yelling. Deputies found a spent round inside the bathroom where the shooting occurred, and determined that only thin drywall separated the bathroom from the bedroom where the children were at the time, officials said.
The suspect’s girlfriend took the dog to an emergency animal clinic in Daytona Beach for treatment. Deputies completed a temporary risk protection order for the seizure of Parsons’ weapons and transported Parsons to AdventHealth Fish Memorial Hospital in Orange City, where he was medically cleared and then transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail, investigators said. He was being held without bond Friday morning on charges of animal cruelty, child abuse and shooting into a dwelling.
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