A Reston, Virginia, man has been charged with felony aggravated cruelty to an animal after Frederick County deputies responded to a disabled vehicle on Hollow Road early Thursday, according to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called at about 1:55 a.m. September 17 to the 7900 block of Hollow Road after a passerby reported that a driver said he had run over and killed his dog, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office identified the driver as Erfan Behnam, 34. Deputies said they found him covered in blood and dog hair and located a dead dog with multiple stab wounds in a nearby grassy area.
Behnam told deputies the dog had jumped from his vehicle while he was driving and that he believed he needed to euthanize it, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities said he admitted stabbing the animal, and deputies recovered a knife from the vehicle.
The dog had about 14 stab wounds, the sheriff’s office said. Behnam was taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center, while Animal Control took custody of the animal’s remains. The charge is an allegation, and Behnam is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.