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Police: Lincoln Man Arrested After His Dogs Died Of Neglect

LINCOLN (KFSM) – A Lincoln man is behind bars after his dogs died of neglect, police say. Kristopher Gooch, 35, was booked into the Washington County Dete...
Kristopher Gooch

LINCOLN (KFSM) – A Lincoln man is behind bars after his dogs died of neglect, police say.

Kristopher Gooch, 35, was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on Thursday (Aug. 28). He faces a charge of aggravated animal cruelty, according to the jail’s intake log.

On May 9, a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy was sent to a residence on South Wedington Blacktop Road in Lincoln. The deputy was responding to a call about an animal complaint, according to court documents.

When the deputy arrived, he found two dead dogs at the residence decaying and covered in maggots, court documents state.

Gooch told the deputy that his ex-girlfriend Carin Macario had abandoned them and that he did not know the dogs were at his residence, according to court documents.

He also said he was in the hospital for a week around the end of April, and when he got out, he found Macario and her new boyfriend were living at the residence where the dogs were. Gooch said he got mad and kicked them out, and Macario did not take her dogs with her, court documents state.

The deputy spoke with Macario, and she said she left the residence and went to stay at a temporary place where she couldn’t have dogs. She said she told Gooch she would arrive on May 2 to get her dogs, according to court documents.

Macario told the deputy that Gooch said he would “see all the dogs dead before he would give her anything,” court documents state.

When Macario went to the residence on May 2, she found one of the dogs there nearly dead on the back porch. She said the dog was “shaking, vomiting on itself, could not get up and smelled very bad,” according to court documents.

Macario said she grabbed her two other dogs and loaded them in her car. There was also a dog there named Macie that belonged to Gooch. Macie was tied up at the end of the porch. On April 30, she had left a bucket of water for the dogs, and by the time she arrived at the home on May 2, it was empty. They also had no food, court documents state.

Before she left, she got food and water for the dogs remaining at the residence, according to court documents.

After she left the home, she said she texted Gooch about the dying animal, and he became angry, threatening her, court documents state.

The deputy photographed text messages that matched Macario’s story, as well as, responses from Gooch acknowledging the dog on the porch was dying, according to court documents.

When the deputy returned to Gooch’s residence, he continued to deny knowing that the dogs were at his home. The deputy noted in his report that he had reason to believe Gooch did know about the dogs, though, because they were tied up near the entrances to the house. Gooch would have to walk past the dogs to go in or out of the home, court documents state.

An arrest warrant was issued for Gooch, and he was later taken into custody. His next hearing is on Aug. 29, according to the jail’s intake report.

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