Police arrest man in Luther after dogs found shot dead outside store Sunday

LUTHER — A Luther resident was arrested after allegedly shooting a woman's dogs outside of a Dollar General store late Sunday.

Around 7 p.m. Sunday, police responded to the store at 19250 E Highway 66 after employees reported hearing gunshots outside the location. Officers found two adult pitbull dogs lying near a large pool of blood next to a gas meter on the westside of the building, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Nov. 22.

Kevin James Schrimsher, 38, had walked into the store earlier and asked if the dogs belonged to any employees, police said. Management told him they did not and followed Schrimsher outside to check the dogs.

The employees told police "the two dogs weren't aggressive and were playful," the affidavit said.

Police were also told that, after employees informed Schrimsher that they couldn't take the dogs because they were busy working, Schrimsher said, "I'll take care of it then," as the employees re-entered the store.

That's when the shots rang out.

When police arrived, they found Schrimsher near the toolbox of his truck in the store's parking lot, with "watery and bloodshot eyes" and "the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person," according to court documents. Inside a bookbag from the truck he was driving, police said they found a firearm inside of it, which was the only item he'd allowed the officers to search.

According to the affidavit, police found two spent 9 mm pistol rounds near the dead dogs, "However, nothing else was seen in (Schrimsher's) bag leading to a connection to the shooting," an officer wrote.

Police asked Schrimsher if he'd shot the dogs, which he denied, saying he'd found them already dead onsite, according to the affidavit. Schrimsher was released at the scene, because officers said they did not have enough evidence to arrest him at the time, but they did impound his truck.

The next day, police obtained a search warrant and found a 9 mm pistol, with no ammunition, inside the impounded truck, as well as opened and unopened alcoholic beverages, according to the affidavit.

Later that same day, Schrimsher was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County jail on two counts of cruelty to animals, one count of use of a firearm while committing a felony and one count of discharging a firearm in a public place.

Mark Opgrande, spokesman for the jail, said Schrimsher was released Wednesday on a $25,000 bond.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Luther resident arrested in connection with deadly shooting of dogs