Behind the scenes: a dog was shot in the face in the park, a 10-day investigation led to his arrest
by LENNY COHEN | WPEC Staff Thursday 14 April 2022
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Behind the scenes: Dog in a park shot in the face, 10-day investigation leading to arrest (Photo: Palm Beach Corporation Sheriff's Office)
Benjamin Brown was arrested more than a week after the Potts shooting, April 12, 2022 (Photo: Palm Beach Corporation Sheriff's Office)
Benjamin Brown was arrested 10 days after the Potts shooting, April 12, 2022 (Photo: Palm Beach Corporation Sheriff's Office)
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Behind the scenes: Dog in a park shot in the face, 10-day investigation leading to arrest (Photo: Palm Beach Corporation Sheriff's Office)
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JUPITER, Florida (WPEC) - Two sisters and two other women close to the suspect have been tasked with arresting the man now accused of shooting a dog in the face.
WPEC read the arrest report closely detailing how the deputies and the investigator worked for ten days until they were arrested, and what this poor dog went through to get to the road to recovery.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office received the call Saturday evening, April 2, "regarding a dog that just got hit in the face with a firearm while on the Kennedy Estates" in Jupiter.
Representatives said two witnesses told them they were walking in the park and saw "a white Honda four-door parked along the sidewalk outside the park entrance."
They described suspect Benjamin Brown, 19, in detail. According to the investigator, they said he "came out from the passenger side of the car and approached a group of loose dogs inside the park. When the male walked toward a brown dog, he pulled a black firearm from his jacket, pointed it at the dog at close range and fired one shot at the dog. The witnesses fled." In the opposite direction the shooter is looking for shelter.However, as soon as [one of them] escapes he takes a picture of a vehicle fleeing the area… while [the other] calls 911. The two are shocked after seeing this incident and give all the information they can get on the best of He gave a description of the suspect and the vehicle he had reached and fled to.
Behind the scenes: Dog in a park shot in the face, 10-day investigation leading to arrest (Photo: Palm Beach Corporation Sheriff's Office)
Then they looked around.
One investigator wrote that after "searching the area and tracing the blood," they found "a small brown/white dog, later identified as a Chocolate Lab mix, named Potts, who was shot with a single bullet at close range to the top of his nose and the wound sticking out from the top of his neck, At the time of locating the injured dog was consciously bleeding from his mouth and walking alone, and due to unknown injuries to the affected dog, he was taken to a local vet for immediate treatment.Garden - near the shooting area - One casing of a .40 caliber projectile was fired. This has been compiled in order to review and compare future evidence in the event of a firearm recovery."
This is exactly what happened in the end.
First, the investigator wrote that the dog's owner "appeared to be upset about what had happened and that one of his dogs had been shot. He learned from a recorded victim statement that [he had] several dogs from the same litter that had been shot and that they all roamed freely in the garden and then came home and he was [ The owner] was inside his house when he heard the shooting and got to know at the time that his dog, named 'Boots', had been shot while in the park.[He] described the dog as a brown Labrador/Chow mix with white paws.[He] said in his statement After swearing that he does not wish to be prosecuted in this case if the suspect is located."
Two days later, the investigator was assigned to the case and began trying to identify the car and the suspect.
...causes the fracture of the lower traction bone and the extraction of several teeth.
An animal care and control official reported Tuesday, April 5, that Potts "is recovering from surgery and is expected to survive. Potts was hit by a single bullet in the upper part of his nose that penetrated the roof of the mouth, and exited from the lower snout/upper neck." He's had reconstructive surgery on this jawbone and is recovering well. Animal Care & Control confirmed that the shoe was just over a year old, weighed about 45 pounds, and was chocolate/white with a white toe.
Then disappointment turned into blessing.
"After exhausting investigation leads and attempts to identify the suspect in this case, I released a photo of the suspicious vehicle, a photo of Boots and a brief description of the incident, seeking public assistance," said Officer Fred.