Mankato man charged with fatally shooting barking dog after leaving threatening notes

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Pictured is Lily, a dog that was fatally shot in Blue Earth County. (Credit: GoFundMe) (Supplied)

SOUTH BEND TOWNSHIP, Minn. (FOX 9) - The shooting death of a dog in rural Blue Earth County led to charges against a man who allegedly admitted to leaving threatening notes about a neighbor's barking dogs.

Rodney Wayne Lyon, 42, of Mankato, is charged with dangerous intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety, animal torture, and four counts of harassment.

Dog found fatally shot

Court records say the shooting was reported around 6:30 p.m. on March 30 in rural Blue Earth County.

The dog was reportedly found injured on the second-level deck of a home by a 13-year-old who lived there.

The 13-year-old was near the deck at the time of the shooting and told law enforcement that "he heard a bang or a pop" and started screaming when he found the dog. Three other people, including a 10-year-old, were at the home at the time of the shooting.

The criminal complaint states a forensic veterinarian determined the dog died from a through-and-through gunshot wound.

Threatening notes

The owner of the dog then told responding deputies that on March 14, he called 911 after finding a threatening note underneath a rock near his garage.

The note reportedly read, "If your dogs are out barking one more f------ time, they are DEAD! You disrespectful ignorant A------!!!" the criminal complaint reads.

On the same date, other neighbors who live close to Lyon also reported finding threatening notes regarding their dogs outside of their houses. Those neighbors reported one of their vehicles was also keyed two days after the note was found.

Other people who previously lived next to Lyon reported finding threatening notes in June 2023 that had similar verbiage and threatened to "put a bullet in the head" of their barking dogs.

Another witness who had lived next to Lyon in 2022 told a Blue Earth County detective that he found a similar note on the windshield wiper of his vehicle, which was also keyed.

Investigation

Around 6:30 p.m. on March 30, the same day the dog was fatally shot, a witness called police to report hearing gunshots from a nearby home and pointed it out to law enforcement.

Responding officers found the home, which they say belonged to Lyon.

Law enforcement then spoke to Lyon, who claimed he was home on the evening of March 30 and that someone had come to look at some motorcycle parts he was selling. According to Lyon, that person arrived at 6 p.m. and left around 6:30 p.m.

Lyon then allegedly admitted to the Blue Earth County detective that he had written threatening notes to dog owners in rural Blue Earth County as well as another dog owner when he lived in Mankato, charges claim.

However, Lyon denied shooting the dog, according to the criminal complaint.

Law enforcement then executed a search warrant for Lyon's home, where they reportedly recovered "numerous firearm-related items including gun cases, instructional manuals for rifles and ammunition."

The detective also spoke to a coworker of Lyon, who reported that Lyon told him he wanted to shoot his neighbor's dogs because they were barking.