South Carolina Man Ordered to Pay $132,000 for Shooting Hunting Dog

A South Carolina man was recently ordered to pay $132,000 for fatally shooting a hunting dog while he was sitting in his deer stand back in the fall of 2023.  

It was September 23, 2023 when William Gray had settled in to chase a large mature buck he knew was roaming his private property in Sumpter, SC. According to accounts posted to Facebook by Gray, he was sitting in his stand and minding his own business when he heard a pair of hunting dogs heading his way. According to his post, Gray then went on to say that he climbed down out of his stand and at that point saw the two dogs coming down a path towards him.

Without missing a beat, Gray shot the first dog, Annabelle, twice and ended up missing the second dog, Topsey, with his third shot. He then stated that he later placed a call to South Carolina’s DNR who sent a warden out to his property to investigate the incident. 

According to the dog’s owner, Ernest Causey, who was hunting deer with his son-in-law that day, the warden that was investigating the case did end up charging Gray for the dog shooting, but only left him with a $125 fine for the incident. Feeling as though the punishment didn’t fit the crime, both Causey and his son-in-law Garrett Williamson railed for stronger punishment for the murder of their hunting dog.

Exhausting their options with both Sumpter County and SCDNR, Causey and Williamson finally decided on filing a civil suit while waiting on a trial date for a criminal case against Gray.

That civil trial ended up taking place earlier this month on February 3rd and was presided over by the Honorable Charles J. McCutchen. 

On the date of the trial, Gray requested and was granted a continuance from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., but then failed to appear for the rescheduled hearing. The trial then proceeded without him, and the judge considered all evidence, including Annabelle's initial cost of $800, the plaintiff's valuation of $10,000, and her potential future earnings based on her ability to produce more litters of puppies valued at $400 per puppy.

In the end, a  judgement was made by Judge McCutchen which ordered the accused to pay $22,000 for actual damages, and another $110,000 for punitive damages for a grand total of $132,000.

McCutchen stated that in addition to the $132,000 judgement, Gray could also face felony charges in criminal court.

“The Defendant intentionally killed the Plaintiff’s dog and intentionally harassed the Plaintiff and his family,” said the judge. “The record is replete with evidence the Defendant’s actions caused extraordinary harm to the Plaintiff. Authorities charged the Defendant with the intentional killing of a hunting dog, and the criminal case against him remains pending as of the issuance of this Order.”