Cops search for man accused of killing cancer patient's dog as revenge for a fight between two animals the same day
Detectives have issued an arrest warrant for Gavin Palpallatoc after he allegedly barged into the home of a terminally ill, 78-year-old woman at the Redwood Estates mobile home park, in Memphis, on Friday.
The 31-year-old is now wanted for aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, aggravated cruelty to animals and aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult, according to a release from Memphis police.
Palpallatoc was allegedly instructed to kill the dog by his friend Jane Reynolds, 52, who has also been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals.
According to Memphis police, Reynolds said two animals had gotten into a small fight earlier that day in the elderly woman's backyard.
The owner of the deceased dog wished to remain anonymous but said Reynolds called her after the fight and told her "I'm gonna call my friend to come put that dog down." She also showed officers text messages between her and Reynolds, who had told her "I can't stop whatever is going to happen. I'm sorry."
Later on, Palpallatoc entered her home and took her dog, a Pit Bull mix named Cash.
"We were sitting on the couch just watching TV, and this guy comes in and pulls him from my couch to the floor, to the porch," the woman said, adding that she had heard at least 12 gunshots, before Palpallatoc fled the scene.
"He emptied the clip," she told police. "Something has got to be missing somewhere for him to come and kill that dog."
A witness told police that she heard the gunfire and saw suspect Palpallatoc walking towards Reynolds with a gun by his side. He later drove from the scene in a green Honda CRV.
According to WREG, the dog's owner is battling terminal cancer and adopted Cash – a stray – five years ago, after he wandered into the mobile home park.
"We got a good dog," she told the outlet. "He was my life.
"I was trying to rehome him and anything I could do and keep him with me as long as I could, and I had really been suffering over that and the fact that what if I go before he goes, what's going to happen."
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