Mentone Men Face Cruelty Charges In Burning Deer Case
Posted
Staff Report-
ROCHESTER – Two Mentone men have been charged with burning a deer while it was still alive, according to a news release from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department. Christopher Hodges, 18, Mentone, was arrested and charged with torturing or mutilating a vertebrae animal. Hodges was booked into the Fulton County Jail Wednesday and has since bonded out. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Mark Shepherd, 20, Mentone, on the same charges. The charges result from a passerby finding a burning deer Feb. 16 on Ind. 25 near CR 400N, Rochester. Police allege Hodges and Shepherd were traveling in a Red 1994 Camaro when they struck the deer. They found the deer still alive and poured gasoline on the animal and set it ablaze, the release states. A motorist saw the burning deer and contacted law enforcement. Conservation officers responded to the scene and they put the deer down. The Fulton County Prosecutor’s Office, Fulton County Crime Stoppers and the Animal Cruelty Investigation Department of People for the Ethical Treatment Of Animals assisted the sheriff’s department with the case.
