Man convicted of Christmas Day 2022 shooting that killed dog

COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. (WWBT) – A man will spend 25 years behind bars after being convicted of a Christmas Day 2022 shooting that left a dog dead.

On Tuesday, a judge in Colonial Heights sentenced Rashaun Smith after he was found guilty in March of the following charges:

• Armed burglary
• Malicious bodily harm
• Shooting in an occupied residential building
• Use of a firearm in the commission of a crime
• Animal cruelty

On December 25, 2022, Colonial Heights police officers responded to a shooting at a home in the 2100 block of Wakefield Avenue.

Colonial Heights District Attorney A. Gray Collins III said Smith sold drugs to the victim that day.

“After the defendant discovered that nine dollars were missing, he returned to the victim's home and shot the victim and his dog, Cabella,” Collins said.

The victim survived the shooting, but Cabella died at the scene.

“Shooting the victim and taking Cabella's life over a lack of nine dollars was reprehensible and deserved at least the maximum sentence under the Virginia State Sentencing Guidelines,” said Assistant District Attorney Noelle Nochisaki.

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