Ind. Man Charged in Bank Robbery, K-9 Death

Joseph Turner was formally charged Wednesday in connection with the shooting of an Anderson police K-9 after robbing a bank at gunpoint.

Aug. 23, 2012

Aug. 23--ANDERSON, Ind. -- Joseph Turner was formally charged Wednesday in connection with the shooting of an Anderson police K-9 after robbing a bank at gunpoint.

Turner, 22, of Anderson was charged with armed robbery, a Class B felony, and killing a police dog, a Class D felony, said Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings.

Magnum, a Belgian malinois, was euthanized Monday morning, as a result of a gunshot through his snout.

Turner is alleged to have shot the dog while attempting to escape from police Saturday morning. Witnesses told police that a man, later identified as Turner, robbed the PNC Bank at Nichol Avenue and Drexel Drive, and headed south on his bicycle.

He was found hours later in a bean field near Eighth Street and Dale Keith Jones Road.

Cummings said he felt killing a police dog should be a higher felony, but was limited by Indiana Code.

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