A recently separated soldier and her active-duty boyfriend have been charged with conspiracy and cruelty to animals after a video of them shooting her service dog was discovered by authorities.

Former Spc. Marinna Rollins, 23, and Spc. Jarren Heng, 25, were charged this week, according to Cumberland County, North Carolina, court documents.

Marinna Rollins

Marinna Rollins was arrested April 25, 2017, and charged with cruelty to animals. The veteran has been charged with tying her service dog to a tree and shooting it five times while a soldier filmed it.
Photo Credit: Cumberland County Sheriff's Office via AP

The case stems from a video posted online of the two tying her service dog, a pit bull named Cam, to a tree and fatally shooting it multiple times with a rifle, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The two can be heard giggling and laughing throughout the video, according to Cumberland County District Attorney Clark Reaves, the AP reported.

Rollins, a former multimedia illustrator, joined the Army in early 2014 and was administratively separated in January, according to Army Human Resources Command.

Heng is assigned to a unit within Army Special Operations Command, spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt confirmed to Army Times, though he declined to provide Heng's unit or military occupational specialty.

According to the Fayetteville Observer, Cam was originally named Huey. Rollins' husband adopted the dog shortly after separating from Rollins in January 2016, the paper reported.

When Rollins' husband, who is in the Army, learned he was being assigned to South Korea, he said Rollins begged him to keep the dog, according to the Fayetteville Observer. After the husband deployed, Rollins changed the dog's name to Camboui and got him certified as an emotional support animal for post-traumatic stress, the paper reported, citing Rollins' friends.

The paper also reported that Rollins in April began posting on Facebook that she was trying to find Cam a new home, telling a friend that caring for the dog had become too expensive. On April 17, she posted that she had a great last day with Cam and that he was going to a new home, the Fayetteville Observer reported.

Rollins and Heng appeared in Cumberland County court Wednesday. Their bail was set at $25,000 each, according to the paper.

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

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