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Police investigate Pflugerville dog shooting

12:14 PM CDT on Thursday, July 28, 2005
By KEVIN PETERS / KVUE News

Homeowners in one Pflugerville neighborhood are outraged after a nearby
homeowner allegedly shot and killed a neighborhood dog while it sat
inside its backyard.

Investigators say the dog was shot once in the neck with a .22 caliber
pistol, and now the dog's owner says she wants justice.

When Melissa Ortiz arrived home on July 15, the first thing she did was
check on her 5-year-old dog, Orion, chained in the back yard.
"As I opened the back blinds to my door, I was face to face with a man
that yelled at me to get out of my house," she said.

Ortiz says Norris Cole proceeded to tell her a story of how he chased a
robber into her backyard. After she called police, she says the truth
came out.

"Found out that it was him that shot my dog after finding the gun on
him," Ortiz said.
Investigators say it was a .22 caliber pistol.

Cole had apparently placed the border collie-lab mix in trash bags and
had already carried him out to his truck when the story unfolded.

"I was very upset," Ortiz said. "I really miss him a lot. It's not the
same without him."

After questioning, deputies say Cole said that he was tired of the dog
constantly barking.
Just on the other side of Ortiz's fence is the Plantation House, an
upscale home rented out year round to host private weddings.
It's also the home of Cole, who valued peace and quiet for his family's
business.

Cole's attorney, Jamie Balagia, issued a statement saying "Norris Cole
deeply regrets the mistake he made. The action taken is not who he is.
He is cooperating with law enforcement and is getting the counseling
that is needed."

Many neighbors who live on the Pflugerville street say they are
frightened.

"We don't come out here anymore because we don't feel safe. It's bad,"
Ortiz said. "If we go outside we go in the front yard."

KVUE's report
Cole faces one count of animal cruelty, a state jail felony, and
criminal trespassing.

His attorney says he's received dozens of e-mails and phone calls
threatening his family.
He hopes those come to an end.

Meanwhile, ATF investigators said Cole had some sort of silencer or
flash suppressor on the gun, which could be illegal.

http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/07 ... d14c9.html

Way over the top. This certainly wasn't the solution to a noise problem. He misused the wrong tool for the job.

Hopefully gunowners won't be painted with same broad brush when viewing the actions of this misguided person.

Suppressed or unsuppressed pistol doesn't matter. How much noise he made committing his deed shouldn't even be an issue.