convicted felon killed my dog

I apologize for the length of this post in advance. I live in a rural community in Florida. Christmas eve, a neighbor shot and killed my dog, and another neighbor's 13 week old puppy. The neighbor's puppy was shot in front of their 15 year old son who had noticed it missing and was looking for it. As he was running to rescue it, the man shot it 2 more times in front of the boy. We were not home at the time. We were celebrating Christmas with family. We learned of this tragedy as soon as we arrived home Christmas eve night. Our own dog was missing from our fenced in yard. We feared the worst. We searched for him that night and into the next day. Finally, we confronted the neighbor and our fears were confirmed. He had shot and killed our Max too. This man has some chickens penned up in cages well off of the ground and percieved our small mixed breed dog and this little 13 week old puppy as a threat to his chickens, so he shot and killed them. We called the local authorities, as did our neighbors, and were told that nothing could be done. This man was within his rights to protect his property. This man also shot and killed another man in another state (Georgia) back in the 1970's. I know he was imprisoned for a short time, I do not know any of the details. I am assuming he is a felon. If this is true, should not he have lost his privilidge to own a firearm? I informed the authorities of this situation, and they say they will check in to it, but it is possible that his civil rights may have been restored. My neighbors are going to pursue this matter in civil court, but that is not an option for me as my resources are limited. What I am requesting of you is, where can I find information on this man's conviction, are the records public? Is it true that convicted felons may be able to posess firearms? And are there any cruelty to animal laws that may apply in this situation. This man must be made to pay for what he has done. We dearly loved our little dog and my children were destroyed by this man's cruelty. 2 families had a very sad Christmas and suffered a lot of unnecessary pain. Can you help?

This is a very sad story. I am sorry to hear it, but anyone crazy enough to do something like that -- who is already convicted of a homicide -- could well pose threats to YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

I would go to the local ASPCA chapter and report it. They won't feel the same way. As for public records, there are lots of places -- check out choicepoint.com.

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Alawyer is right- the ASPCA could very well be your best friend in dealling with this person. To the best of my knowledge a felon is prohibited from owning a firearm, under the circumstances you told of (however vague). It may also depend on the conditions of the prior arrest. Was he convicted of the suspected homicide as a self-defense issue? If so then he might have the right to own firearms restored in court. It all depends on the case details.

I hope you find some way to settle this issue. SAFELY.

Even person(s) with felony charges can get their citizen's rights back through their governor and that is fair. There is a complicated system to go through to get the rights back and if he's done that then, its legal. Now the current crime of shooting the dogs is a different story and as long as the law officials do not charge him with any felony, he will keep his gun rights. It is in our consitution.

You can look up court records and their results right from your own coumpter, all you have to do is go under the county where his crime was committed in for example I am from Columbus, Ohio I always look court records up under www.fcmcclerk.com
that stands for Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk. You will be surpised at what you can find on your county records or any county records. Good Luck! Here is a site for prison's in Georgia www.dcor.state.ga.us
If you know his first and last name you can find out alot on him and the sentence if he was convicted of a crime in Georgia. Hope this can help you! Best Wishes!!

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[This message has been edited by Christel (edited January 09, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Christel (edited January 09, 2000).]