At 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, the Lyon County Sheriff's Office received a call about a wild horse that had been shot with a bow.
According to horse advocacy group Wild Horse Connection, a volunteer and member of the LRTC (Least Resistance Training Concepts) Technical Large Animal Rescue Team, found the body that morning when she went out to feed her own horses.
Deputies arrived to the address on Iroquois Trail in Stagecoach, NV and found the deceased male horse.
Deputies and volunteers from Wild Horse Connections followed the blood trail left by the horse, which led to another residence on Iroquois trail.
Deputies obtained and served a search warrant for the residence and located a cross bow and arrows matching the one found in the dead horse.
As a result of the investigation, 41-year-old Stagecoach resident Johnathan Wilson was arrested and charged with the unlawful and malicious killing of a wild horse, as well as a misdemeanor warrant out of Storey County.
Wilson is currently being held in the Lyon County jail with a bail of $11,005.
“No animal deserves to die this way," said Wild Horse Connection President Corenna Vance. "These horses are a cherished and historic part of living on the Virginia Range. It’s a sad day, but we appreciate the thorough follow through by law enforcement.”
(LCSO and Wild Horse Connections assisted with this report.)
