Moraine man faces animal cruelty charge

Police said a man in Moraine shot and killed an aggressive pit bull at his home and tried to discard the animal with the garbage.

A pit bull mother and a litter of puppies remained at the home on Lakehurst Court, but animal control was expected to remove at least the mother because she was not licensed, according to a Moraine police report.

Robert Anthony Cochran, 29, is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on suspicion of cruelty to animals and tampering with evidence.

Police got a tip that someone shot the dog and was trying to get rid of it.

Officers responded but the resident denied the allegation and wouldn’t allow police to search the home, according to the report.

Some time later, a witness called police to report seeing the suspect dragging a trash can to another house.

The Montgomery County Animal Resource Center responded along with police and the remains of a pit bull were found in a black bag.

It had apparently been shot to death and police found evidence the animal was shot in the suspect’s garage, according to the report.

Police said a witness reported she was visiting the house the previous night and the dog got spooked and bit her.

Court records show Cochran was convicted of animal cruelty in 2012. In February that year police were searching the suspect’s home as part of a drug trafficking investigation and found a dog carcass in the freezer and a cat that was suffering from open sores on its face, according to court records.

Corchran was given a 90-day jail sentence, which was suspended providing that he stayed away from animals for one year.