NJ Man Arrested After Dog Fatally Shot In Head: Police

MAPLE SHADE, NJ — A Burlington County man has been arrested after fatally shooting a dog that belonged to a veteran with PTSD and depression, authorities announced.

William D. Stroemel, A.K.A. “Wild Willie,” has been arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of Toby, a poodle who escaped from his neighbor’s backyard last week, according to authorities.

Toby escaped from his owner’s backyard in Maple Shade and made his way down the street, where authorities said Stroemel shot him with an air rifle. Stroemel then handed the gun to an acquaintance and asked him to hold it for him, according to authorities. Police don’t believe Toby was on Stroemel’s property when he shot him.

Stroemel, 64 of Maple Shade, was arrested and charged with weapons offenses on Monday, Sept. 23, after police discovered a .22 caliber pistol during the execution of a search warrant at his home.

Additional charges were filed after a necropsy connected a pellet that was removed from Toby’s head to Stroemel’s air rifle, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Maple Shade Township Police Chief Christopher Fletcher.

He has been charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, two counts of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, third-degree animal cruelty, third-degree certain persons not to have firearms, fourth-degree hindering apprehension/concealing evidence and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.

The investigation began after the Cook Family contacted Maple Shade police at about 2:11 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The family said the dog had been injured sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. the previous evening.

After a neighbor alerted the family that the dog had been howling in pain, they took him to the vet, police said. An examination by a veterinarian revealed that he had been shot in the head. Toby was euthanized a day after being shot.

"Toby was the sweetest little dog in the world," Amber Cook wrote in a GoFundMe post that raised $2,665 to help her grandfather. "There are no words to describe how much he meant to our family. I'm starting this fund to help with some medical expenses they incurred trying to save him."

Stroemel, a heavy equipment operator, is in Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly awaiting a detention hearing in Superior Court.

Read more here: NJ Dog Shot After Escaping Backyard; Police Seek Culprit