A South Side man with a history of gun convictions is accused of gunning down a small dog on his porch and then trying to hide the crime, prosecutors said in a detention petition.
Andre Carothers, 26, appeared before Judge Susana Ortiz on charges that included being a habitual criminal with two prior weapons convictions, reckless discharge of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor cruelty to animals. Ortiz ordered him detained.
According to prosecutors, surveillance video from the morning of August 23 showed Carothers dressed in a hoodie, gloves, and a face mask, standing on a second-floor porch of his building in the 1300 block of West 78th Street. Just minutes later, the video recorded a gunshot and what prosecutors described as a “minor wincing noise by a dog.”
The footage then showed a small dog trotting toward the camera, away from Carothers, who allegedly followed it with a gun in his hand. He fired again, prompting “loud whimpering and wincing from the dog,” prosecutors said. The video allegedly captured Carothers and another person pacing around the wounded animal while Carothers continued holding the weapon. At one point, Carothers pointed the gun near the dog’s head before the animal barked and ran down the stairs, prosecutors alleged.
A witness called 911. Police found blood droplets on the ground but never located the dog.
The following day, officials said, Carothers called Chicago Animal Care and Control, claiming there was a dead dog in a garbage can in the alley behind his home. But when animal control arrived, the can was empty.
Prosecutors said a witness on Friday identified Carothers in a photo lineup as the shooter. That same day, officers conducting a follow-up investigation near the scene saw him leave the area on foot. He ran and hopped a fence but was caught, a CPD report said. Officers allegedly recovered a loaded 9mm handgun hidden under a bush along his escape route and found about 20 baggies of suspected crack cocaine in his possession.
Prosecutors said Carothers has three prior felony convictions, including two for unlawful use of a weapon.
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