HERMITAGE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A man has been arrested after killing a dog outside a Hermitage Hotel.
Metro police responded to the sound of gunshots around 8:30 a.m. on April 16. Officers spotted Leon Lewis walking away from a ditch at the Suburban Extended Stay Hotel at 3910 Central Pike.
Officers walked over to the ditch and observed a small black dog bleeding from the mouth. The dog was suffering from a gunshot wound.
A witness told officers that they were standing outside of the hotel when the incident occurred. The witness was in ear and eyeshot of the incident.
Officers went to the hotel and reviewed video surveillance. Police report that Lewis can be seen leaving the hotel in the footage with the dog and walking through the parking lot onto Shurgard Way. Lewis entered the ditch with the dog. A minute later, Lewis is seen leaving the ditch without the dog before he walks back to the hotel.
A hotel manager told police which hotel room Lewis was staying in. The manager told police that Lewis owned the dog seen in the surveillance footage.
The witness and Lewis granted the officers permission to look inside their hotel room and Uhaul rental van for Lewis' handgun. Officers located a black .32 caliber revolver inside of the Uhaul van.
Lewis gave a statement to police stating, "I should've just let the dog go."
Animal control responded to the scene and took the dog's remains. A necropsy was performed to remove the round from the dog's body.
