Firefighter Who Allegedly Bragged About Shooting Dogs Has Been Arrested
Tim Conatser, the Texas volunteer firefighter who allegedly bragged on his Facebook page about shooting two dogs on his property, has been arrested in Hunt County.
Hunt County officials confirmed with WFAA that Conatser, 20, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with two felony charges of animal cruelty. His bond has been set at $10,000.
Conatser could serve up to two years in prison for each conviction.
On Feb. 25, a Facebook post by Conatser went viral online after he posted a picture (seen below ... WARNING: Graphic content) of two dead dogs
-- blood next to them -- with the message, "Somebody didn't put any truth [to] my warning. Keep your damn dogs on your property."
"It's a sad thing that it came to that," neighbor Phillip Crawfton told WFAA TV in Dallas. "It seems like it could've been resolved in a different manner instead of him just shooting somebody's dogs like that."
Conatser was a volunteer firefighter with the Union Valley Volunteer Fire Department for four months before he resigned following the controversy.
“He says he apologized and he’s guilty of posting this on Facebook,” fire chief Edward Ragsdale said. “He’s young and he recognizes what he did was wrong.”
Hunt County Constable Terry Jones said a homeowner does have a right to protect his property and/or his family if they are threatened by animals, but he said it's unknown if that's the case with Conatser.
The owner of the dogs has still not come forward publicly.