NORTH YARMOUTH, Maine — The suspect accused of shooting and killing a dog Friday on a hiking trail in North Yarmouth has reportedly turned himself into police.
Troy Hall, 51, of Windham turned himself into law enforcement officials at about 10:45 a.m. Saturday and confessed to killing the dog, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shared in a news release. Hall faces a charge of shooting a domestic animal.
The incident happened around 11 a.m. Friday, when the dog was out with a group of hikers on a marked trail at the Knights Pond Preserve. The dog had ventured about 20 feet ahead of the group when it was shot, state wildlife officials said Friday. The suspected shooter briefly spoke with the group but then fled the area, according to the release.
The shooter was wearing gear commonly used for hunting, with a blaze orange hat and vest and camouflage pants, state officials said Friday. Investigators were able to speak with several witnesses and collected evidence, and the Maine Operation Game Thief offered a $2,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest.
On Saturday morning, Hall went into the Windham Police Department, where he met with Maine Game Wardens and apparently confessed to shooting the dog.
“This atrocious, negligent shooting is both heinous and inexcusable and is aggravated by the cowardly act of the shooter fleeing the scene,” Maine DIF&W Commissioner Judy Camuso said Friday. “The incomprehensible and appalling act of one individual tarnishes the reputation of all of Maine’s 230,000 hunters. We all are outraged by this atrocity."
According to Saturday's news release, Maine Game Wardens will meet with the Cumberland County district attorney's office to determine whether more charges will be filed against Hall.
The investigation remains active and ongoing, according to Saturday's news release.
