SPARTANBURG, SC (FOX Carolina) – Spartanburg officers said a man was arrested Saturday for hitting a dog.

Officers said while driving on Hwy. 357 a witness said she observed a man walking a pit bull dog. She told officers the man grabbed the leash and began hitting the dog.

Officers said they searched for the man and when he found him, they explained that they had received multiple calls about him hurting his dog.

According to officers, the man responded “you can keep it.”

Officers asked the man for his identification and if he had a gun. The man said he did have a gun and that “even though it doesn’t shoot… I’m not allowed to have a gun, that’s why it’s in my pocket.”

The man also claimed that the weapon: an Imperial Metal Model 9 22LR revolver was not his and that someone left it at his house.

Officers arrested the man and identified him as 47-year-old Michael Jason Hart.

Spartanburg County Animal Control arrived and undertook the animal cruelty investigation, deputies said. Animal Control gave Hart two citations.

Deputies said they discovered Hart was charged in 2001 with a drug crime and was also convicted in 2002 as a registered sex offender.

Both charges made Hart ineligible to possess a firearm.

Hart was booked into the Spartanburg Co. Detention Center on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm.

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