Deputies: Largo Man Shot Neighbor's Dog With Pellet Gun

A Largo man is accused of shooting and injuring his neighbor's dog because it was running around off its leash, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Peter A. Stekol, 69, was arrested Friday and charged with animal cruelty. He was being held in Pinellas County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies accused Stekol of shooting the dog with a pellet gun around 9 p.m. that night while it was off its leash in a trailer park in the 12300 block of Seminole Boulevard, the Times reports.

Stekol had repeatedly threatened to shoot the dog if he saw it running loose, the Times reports, citing an arrest affidavit. He admitted to owning a pellet gun but denied shooting the dog, deputies said.

As for the dog, the newspaper reports:

It's unclear how badly the dog was injured. A deputy noted the animal had a fresh wound on its side that appeared to have come from a pellet.