Man bound over for trial for animal cruelty charge

A 63-year-old man was bound over for trial Tuesday for allegations he shot shooting a dog in a trash bin and of threatening to shoot anyone with an issue with it.

Following a preliminary hearing before Comanche County Special District Judge Christine Galbraith, Aldon Ray Pointer, of Apache, enough evidence was presented for him to be bound over for trial for 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.

Pointer was arrested after deputies from the Comanche County Sheriff’s Department were called shortly before 2:30 a.m. July 21 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.

Witnesses said Pointer and a woman got up and went outside where two gunshots were heard. Investigators found a long-haired black and white dog dead inside, according to the affidavit. A Dodge pickup owned by Pointer parked next to the trash container also had blood on its tailgate, investigators said.

Deputies said Pointer approached 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, the affidavit states. He first 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.”

Pointer was then arrested and while on the way to the Comanche County Detention Center, admitted to shooting the dog but claimed it happened at his home, according to the affidavit.

Released on $2,500 bond, as part of Pointer’s bond conditions, Pointer had to surrender his firearms to the sheriff’s office within 24 hours of posting bail.

Pointer will return to court at 9 a.m. Jan. 7, 2025, before Chief District Judge Grant Sheperd for his formal arraignment.