Dog's Cruel, Inhumane Death At Shorewood Parking Lot: Pet Owner In His 50s Pleads Guilty, Draws Sentence

SHOREWOOD, IL — Nearly two years after the filing of felony animal cruelty charges against a Charlotte, North Carolina, man staying at a Shorewood hotel, where his dog was found dead on the property, 55-year-old criminal Garland Norris returned to the Will County Courthouse to work out a plea bargain to bring his case to an end this week.

On Tuesday, Will County Judge Jessica Colon-Sayre, the presiding judge on the case, accepted Norris' guilty plea to aggravated cruelty to animals. The North Carolina man was given 24 months of conditional discharge and court fines totaling $669. Norris must not possess a gun or other dangerous weapon, under the terms of this week's sentencing.

"Defendant shall not possess any dogs or cats," Judge Colon's sentencing order also reads.

Norris was represented by Orland Park defense lawyer John Fotopoulos, the same lawyer who has partnered with former Will County Judge Dave Carlson to serve as defense counsel for Joliet Township's cold-case murder defendant Gilbert Bernal.

Back on July 31, 2024, Joliet Patch reported that the dead dog was found inside Norris' Chevy Tahoe while the North Carolina man went shopping for a couple of hours while staying at Shorewood's Econo Lodge, Shorewood Police Chief Phil Arnold relayed.

Arnold said that Norris was arrested after the dead dog was discovered that afternoon at the Econo Lodge along the frontage road near Interstate 55.

According to the chief, Shorewood officers were conducting an unrelated criminal investigation at the Econo Lodge when they saw the dead dog in a pool of urine while crated inside the back of the Chevy Tahoe, which was not running in the parking lot of the motel. The outdoor temperature peaked at 92 degrees in Shorewood on the day the dog died.

"Norris eventually admitted to officers that he had left the dog in the vehicle while shopping for about two hours and found it dead when he returned to the car. He also stated that he was going to try and find a veterinarian the next day to dispose of it," Arnold announced in his2024 press release.

The Shorewood Police Department did not have a mugshot for Norris, officials informed Joliet Patch.