John E. Hogshooter Arrested for Aggravated Animal Cruelty for Poisoning Missing Karen Johnson Swift’s Dog

And now for something completely different and rather peculiar in the case of missing Karen Johnson Swift.

39 year old John E. Hogshooter was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant for cruelty to animals. Why is this important? The animal cruelty in question was the poisoning of missing Karen Johnson Swift’s dog.  Hogshooter was taken into custody and remains in the Dyer County Jail without bond until his appearance before a judge on Monday morning.

John E. Hogshooter

Dyer County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a suspect on an outstanding felony warrant for animal cruelty while searching for evidence in the Karen Johnson Swift case.

John E. Hogshooter, 39, 285 Pennell Lane, was arrested by sheriff’s officers on Saturday for aggravated animal cruelty while performing their search of a wooded area on Harness Road in Dyer County. Hogshooter is accused of poisoning two dogs in the area, one of which belonged to the Swifts.

Swift’s husband, David Swift, reported the incident to sheriff’s deputies on Oct. 7. In the report, David Swift stated he observed his dog travel to 310 Harness Road, where Hogshooter had been staying, and it fell ill shortly afterward. Karen Swift was reported to have gone to the dwelling to speak to Hogshooter, but he was not there and she saw a blue rocky substance in a pan. The dog was taken to an animal clinic and was given medication to counteract the alleged poison, then was released after overnight observation.

A neighbor of the Swifts is also said by officials to have had their dog poisoned in the same incident and the dog had died.

So does this neighbors behavior toward the Swift’s dog have anything to do with missing Karen Johnson Swift? John E.  Hogshooter  was confronted by Karen Swift on the day of the alleged poisoning incident, which lead to the eventual police report and warrant. Did a vendetta develop? A rather bizarre happening indeed and rather curious, especially when the woman who confronted the dog poisoner has gone missing.