WASHINGTON — Police have arrested a man who is suspected of shooting his dog to death and leaving it at a private archery range in Northern Virginia last year.
Mark Cochrane, 61, of Reston, Virginia, was arrested Wednesday and faces multiple charges, including felony animal cruelty, Fairfax County police said in a statement Friday. Cochrane is a Customs and Border Protection officer, Fairfax County police officer Reem Awad confirmed to WTOP.
On July 2017, someone called police to report a dead dog with what appeared to be a gunshot wound, police said. The dog was found at a private archery range near Fountainhead Regional Park in Fairfax Station, Virginia. The shepherd mix had a collar but no tags or other identifying information, police added.
Police later found that the dog had a microchip. According to NBC Washington, police contacted the dog’s vet and learned that Cochrane, the owner, had reported that his pet had died at home in August 2017.
Cochrane did a voluntary interview at police headquarters earlier this month, and he admitted to shooting the dog at the range, NBC Washington also reported. Police also executed a number of search warrants and found evidence that led to the charges against him.
Below is a map of the area where the dog’s body was found last year.
WTOP’s Michelle Basch contributed to this report.
