Chief Domenic J. DiMella
27 Hamilton Street
Saugus, MA 01906
For Immediate Release
Monday, July 14, 2014
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 781-666-2012
Email: john@jgpr.net
Saugus Man Charged After Allegedly Shooting Bulldog Outside His Home
Dog Had Bitten Child, Suspect Not Licensed to Own or Possess Firearms
SAUGUS — Police Chief Domenic J. DiMella announces that a Saugus man is facing a multitude of charges after he allegedly shot and killed his dog after it bit a child.
RICHARD MALTAIS, AGE 50, does not possess a Firearms Identification Card or a License to Carry. He has never applied for one in Saugus. He has been charged with:
- Possession of a Firearm without a FID Card (Two Counts)
- Possession of Ammunition with out a FID Card
- Discharging a Firearm within 500 Feet of a Building
- Animal Cruelty, a Felony
Police responded at 1:26 p.m. Sunday, July 13, 2014 to an address on Lynn Fells Parkway for a report of shots fired. Arriving officers were advised that the homeowner, later identified as MALTAIS, shot and killed an English Bulldog outside the home after it had bitten a child and multiple other people inside the residence.
MALTAIS told police that the dog had previously been a “rescue” and that it became aggressive and bit a nine-month-old baby and others in the home. Police found the body of the dog under a deck outside the home.
Police recovered two spent .380 shell casings and an unspent round. Police also found a Sig Sauer P230 .380 handgun and a Ruger .22 Rifle, as well as boxes of assorted ammunition.
MALTAIS will be summonsed to Lynn District Court at a later date on the above listed charges. He is accused to shooting the dog three times in the head, killing it, after the animal became aggressive.
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