The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Thursday charged Curtis Leroy Madden, 64, with shooting a dog in front of an 11-year-old girl in Des Moines on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022.

As we previously reported, police say that at around 6:55 p.m. on Wednesday night, officers were dispatched to the area near the 1800 block of S. 243rd Street in Des Moines for reports of sounds of a shooting.

Madden has been charged with Animal Cruelty 1st Degree and Reckless Endangerment, and was booked into the King County Jail.

Charging documents allege that Madden shot a 5-year-old boxer dog in front of an 11-year-old girl and a number of witnesses who happened to be outdoors in their yards or walking.

Prosecutors say he shot the dog not only once, but twice, causing the young girl who had been walking the dog to fear for her life.

The girl told police that she thought the defendant was pointing the gun towards her before he shot her dog a second time. She was fearful that he was going to shoot her.

Madden admitted the dog was not attacking him at the time he shot it, and that the dog had not attacked him. He claimed the boxer had attacked his lab; however, police officers saw no evidence to support that claim.

None of the neighbors who saw the dogs reported an attack by the boxer. There was significant space between the dogs at the time the defendant shot the boxer. After shooting the boxer once, another witness noted the boxer limping and whimpering as it walked towards the 11-year-old girl who had been walking it.

The boxer walked in a circle around her and then the defendant shot it again, when he was about eight feet in front of her.

“His actions were cruel and dangerous,” charging documents say. “He is likely to commit an act of violence if he is free in the community in light of his actions here. And that he swore at the dog and said, ‘Damn straight I did!’ about shooting the boxer when asked by a witness. He apparently had no remorse about shooting the dog, let alone shooting this dog, a family pet, in front of an 11-year-old girl.”

“The defendant should possess no firearms during the pendency of this case,” prosecutors said. “He should appear for court when required to do so and he should stay in touch with his attorney. He should have no contact with the girl or her family.”

Here’s more from the charging papers:

A witness says he observed a black Labrador run past his house, with a boxer following closely.

Shortly after, the lab came racing back down the street. After a moment or two, the boxer appeared, walking much slower. The boxer stopped and urinated on a mailbox. The lab had disappeared from the witnesses’ sight by this time.

The boxer then proceeded down the street, towards the direction of where the witness could hear a female voice calling for the boxer. The boxer walked towards the voices, and was out of the witness’s vision when he heard gunshots.

The witness then saw the defendant and asked him if he had heard the gun fire. The defendant admitted to being the person who had fired the gun and willingly admitted he had shot the boxer dog.

The witness noted when speaking to police the boastful nature of the defendant’s remarks about shooting the dog.

2 replies on “Curtis Leroy Madden charged with shooting & killing dog in front of 11-year-old girl in Des Moines”

  1. He should also be charged a felony for firing a firearm in city limits and endangering the life of a child. Put this guy away for a long time (DANGEROUS).

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