Man accused of shooting dog in bar dumpster, threatening others with ‘issue with it’

A 62-year-old man is free on $2,500 bond after being accused of shooting a dog in a trash bin and of threatening to shoot anyone with an issue with it.

Aldon Ray Pointer, of Apache, made his initial appearance Monday in Comanche County District Court where he received a felony charge of cruelty to animals and misdemeanor charges of carrying a firearm while under the influence, leaving a carcass within ¼ of a mile of a highway, threatening to perform an act of violence and reckless conduct with a firearm, records indicate. The felony is punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine up to $5,000.

Deputies from the Comanche County Sheriff’s Department were called shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday to DJ’s Bait Shop, 104 Brookdale Road regarding an intoxicated person shooting a dog in a trash bin. The bartender said she’d heard about a dog being shot and dumped in the trash container outside. She said someone had come inside and said “whoever shot the dog and threw it in the trash needed to ‘finish it’ as the dog was still active, the probable cause affidavit states.

The bartender said Pointer and a woman got up and went outside and she was later told the dog was shot two more times. Investigators found a long-haired black and white dog dead inside, the affidavit states. A Dodge pickup owned by Pointer parked next to the trash container also had blood on its tailgate.

Pointer approached a deputy and said he’d been inside drinking and deputies noticed blood on his pants and boots. Pointer said he’d had to put his horse down earlier in the evening and that the blood on the tailgate was from moving it, according to the affidavit. He denied shooting the dog. A .22 caliber Colt Peacemaker was recovered from his pickup.

The woman told the deputy Pointer had shot the dog; she said “Aldon just gets rowdy when he drinks,” the affidavit states. A patron at the bar told investigators when Pointer returned inside the bar, he said “if any of you have an issue with it, I’ll shoot you, too.” Other patrons echoes those comments as well.

Pointer was then arrested. While en route to the Comanche County Detention Center, he admitted to shooting the dog but claimed it happened at his home, according to the affidavit.

As part of his bond conditions, Pointer had to surrender his firearms to the sheriff’s office within 24 hours of posting bail. He returns to court at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 10 for his preliminary hearing, records indicate.