BERKELEY — A township man has been charged with fatally shooting a family member’s dog after police concluded a month-long investigation into the animal’s death.
Police were called to 4 Lyford Court on October 3 after the owners of a 1-year-old French bulldog named Ruby reported that the dog had died while staying with a relative, identified as 56-year-old Jeffrey Lentz.
A veterinarian later determined that Ruby had been shot in the face, and X-rays showed a bullet lodged in the dog’s jaw. The animal was sent to the New Jersey Animal Health Diagnostics Lab in Trenton for a necropsy as investigators worked to determine what happened.
Berkeley Township Police detectives and Humane Law Enforcement officers investigated the case throughout the month. Their findings concluded that Lentz had unlawfully fired a gun at Ruby, killing her, police said.
Following a review by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Lentz was charged with animal cruelty, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and possession of a large-capacity magazine. He was arrested on November 3 and taken to the Ocean County Jail pending a court hearing.
Authorities emphasized that the charges are accusations and Lentz is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
