Chatfield Area Man Charged With Killing Neighbor's Dogs

Chatfield, MN (KROC-AM News) - Criminal charges have been filed against an Olmsted County man accused of shoo and killing two dogs belonging to a neighbor.

The criminal complaint against 67-year-old Craig Allen Reichel says the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office responded to a call for service in the Chatfield area on January 6. The responding deputies spoke to a man who reported that his two dogs, a white Great Pyrenees named Bertha and a Goldendoodle named Sadie, had left his property the previous evening.

Dog Owner Contacted Neighbor

The court document says the victim sent a text message to a neighbor asking if she had seen his dogs. That person stated that she then contacted Reichel, who lived on the same street, and asked if he had seen the two dogs. The woman told the deputy that Reichel claimed he did not know the victim owned any dogs.

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Search Led to Carcass of One Dog

The neighbor indicated that she helped search for the missing dogs and discovered a blood trail near a deer carcass pile on Reichel's property. The neighbor told deputies that she followed the blood trail and found the Great Pyrenees dead from a gunshot wound.

Photo by Andy Brownell TSM Rochester

Reichel Admitted Shooting the Dogs

When contacted by a deputy, the criminal complaint says Reichel admitted shooting the dogs and claimed they were chasing deer and threatening his dogs. The court document says Reichel told the deputy he had taken the Goldendoodle to a creek on his property to dispose of its carcass, but he did not know where the other dog went after it was shot. Reichel later took the deputy to the location where he had disposed of the Goldendoodle.

Trail Camera Evidence

The charging document says the deputy spotted a trail camera near the carcass pile on Reichel's property and obtained photographs taken by it. The criminal complaint says the photos show the victim’s dogs standing calmly next to the carcass pile. The trail camera photos also did not show the dogs chasing deer or exhibiting any aggressive behavior.

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