Virginia cop accused of killing fiancée’s dog, blaming bogus bear attack

A Virginia cop copped a plea after being accused of fatally capturing his fiancée’s canine — after which mendacity that he by accident killed the pooch whereas combating off a bear assault.

Richard R. Chinappi III, a patrol officer with the Richmond Police Division, pleaded no contest to felony animal cruelty prices stemming from the Oct. 19 incident on the couple’s dwelling, based on The Richmond Instances- Dispatch.

Chinappi, 27, additionally pleaded responsible to submitting a false report with regulation enforcement in regards to the beagle-hound combine’s demise.

Deputies from the Powhatan County Sheriff’s Workplace had responded to a name from the fiancée’s father a few bear assault at his daughter’s dwelling, based on a abstract of proof filed by Powhatan Deputy Commonwealth’s Lawyer Rob Cerullo.

When officers arrived on the dwelling, they discovered Chinappi displaying indicators of intoxication. They discovered blood splattered throughout the kitchen and smeared throughout the ground that appeared “semi cleaned up,” officers stated. Cops additionally discovered Clorox wipes and a bottle of bleach.

Chinappi instructed officers that he had been within the lavatory when he heard footsteps from the again deck. He stated the canine started barking and he realized that a bear had entered by way of the again of the home. Chinappi stated he grabbed his shotgun and fired on the bear earlier than it carried the canine away.

Deputies pushed Chinappi after his story didn't add up. No indicators of a bear being in and even close to his dwelling had been discovered, though there was proof of a gun fired inside the house.

Chinappi then modified his story, and stated one of many pictures he fired went by way of the bear and struck the canine, including that he then buried the pup within the woods close by.

The canine’s stays had been despatched for a veterinary examination, which decided the pet had been shot an in depth vary and had a “large gap” in its physique with remnants of shotgun pellets.

Chinappi, who was employed by the division in October 2016, was positioned on administrative depart after his arrest. 

The deputy commonwealth’s legal professional stated Chinappi’s lawyer wrote in a letter to the Virginia Division of Legal Justice Providers that his shopper intends to voluntarily give up his regulation enforcement certification.

He's scheduled to be sentenced on March 11.

With Publish wires

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