A San Antonio man walked up to a home on the Southwest Side, told two barking dogs to “shut up,” and then shot and killed one of the animals with a rifle, according to court records.
Mario Rosalio Avila, 28, was arrested and charged with cruelty to a non-livestock animal by killing or poisoning. He was booked into the Bexar County jail but later posted bond and was released.
Avila’s sister lives next door to the house with the dogs, on Ozalid Lane, near Poteet Jourdanton Freeway, according to an arrest affidavit. At 7:20 a.m. on July 10, Avila parked his gray SUV at his sister’s house and walked to the house next door, carrying a rifle, investigators said.
“The defendant then walked up to the owner’s two dogs that were in the owner’s yard and was heard saying ‘shut up,'” the affidavit states. Avila allegedly shot and killed one of the dogs. He then walked back to his SUV and drove north on Ozalid to his own home, according to the affidavit.
The incident was captured by a security camera, investigators wrote.
The dog owner’s brother called police to report what happened. A witness who lives across the street from the dog owner told detectives he heard a shot, looked toward the dog owner’s house and saw Avila “looking in his direction … while holding a rifle,” the affidavit states.
Avila, the dog owner, his brother and the witness all know one another, investigators said.
Police obtained a warrant for Avila’s arrest the day after the shooting.
