VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach man faces animal cruelty and firearm charges after a dog was shot and killed blocks away from the Oceanfront earlier this month.
According to a Virginia Beach Police Department release, officers got an alert from the city's gunshot detection system around 8:40 a.m. on Sept. 6. They went to the area on Atlantis Drive where the alert indicated gunshots and found a dog that had been shot multiple times in both his front and rear legs.
The dog died the next day after surgery.
Detectives identified the suspect as 30-year-old Elijah Spellman and were able to track him to Georgia. That's where he was arrested on Sept. 12 by the Atlanta Police Department.
Spellman is charged with felony animal cruelty, discharging a gun within city limits, reckless handling of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted violent felon.
He is currently awaiting extradition back to Virginia Beach.
