Conrad Benjamin Morris, 46, of Bushwood
On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, Deputy D. Smith of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area Upland Drive in Bushwood for the report of animal cruelty.
Upon arrival he spoke with a female complainant that lives next door to Conrad Benjamin Morris, 46, of Bushwood, and advised she watched Morris shoot a dog 12 times with a BB gun. The deputy located the dog on scene. The dog, black lab mix was loose and not tied up. The complainant advised Morris was on his back porch when she observed him shoot 8 times into her back yard at the dog. She then watched as the defendant shot 4 more times at the dog in his own yard. The complainant advised at one point the dog was nursing its right back leg. A short time later animal control arrived on scene, and the dog was seized as part of an ongoing investigation. The dog was taken to a veterinarian for examination where an x-ray showed the dog had two BB pellets in its skin. One in its tail, and one on its back. The veterinarian noted these were old injuries, and not new, and told police, shows an “ongoing abuse of the animal”.
Police spoke with Morris the next day, and he advised the dog is not his, however he admits to tying the dog up and feeding it every now and then. He also admitted he was shooting a BB gun the day of the incident but was not aiming at the dog. Police recovered two BB guns from Morris.
Police reviewed the case with Assistant States Attorney Caspar who advised probable cause was present and requested the defendant be charged with Animal Cruelty.
A criminal summons was issued on November 17, 2020, for Morris, and he has a preliminary hearing scheduled for January 8, 2021, in District Court.
Conrad Benjamin Morris, 46, of Bushwood
