Neighbors not surprised by arrest of suspect in horse shootings

RENO, Nev. -- One of three friends accused of shooting wild horses in Nevada is described by neighbors as a creepy, cocky, would-be cowboy who bragged about killing animals and once gutted a deer on his living room carpet.

The other two men arrested Tuesday are U.S. Marines who allegedly joined in the horse slaughter while on home leave from their bases in California.

The Marine Corps said it would cooperate fully with the suspects' extradition to Nevada to face charges in the slaughter of the 34 mustangs, which has stirred outrage throughout the West.

"The Marine Corps condemns this type of abhorrent behavior, which is clearly contrary to the values and principles of the Marine Corps and will not be tolerated," the Corps said in a statement. "Such actions do not reflect the dedication and service to our nation of the more than 172,000 Marines on active duty."

The Corps released no personal details about Lance Cpl. Scott William Brendle, 22, now held at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, and Lance Cpl. Darien Thomas Brock, 21, who was in custody at Twentynine Palms east of Los Angeles.

The two Marines and Anthony Merlino, 20, a Reno construction worker, were arrested Tuesday after the granddaughter of a sheriff's department employee overheard a conversation about the horse slaughter at a party and put deputies on their trail, Washoe County Sheriff Richard Kirkland said.

Merlino's neighbors told the Reno Gazette-Journal that he routinely shot birds with a shotgun at the apartment building where he lived in 1997.

"The guy creeped me out bad," said one, Melissa Sarenana, who once saw him carve and clean a deer on his living room floor.

"He just cut it up right on the carpet," Sarenana said. "There was blood and ick all over the place and he just left it there for two weeks."

Neighbor Walter Alarcon described Merlino and his former roommates as "cowboy-style punks" who liked to start fights. He said Merlino shot birds in the small grassy area outside the apartment.

"There were always dead birds outside on the ground," he said.

Detectives credited "intense police work," a $35,000 reward and widespread compassion for the horses for generating hundreds of tips after the horse carcasses were found Dec. 27 on the hillsides east of the Reno-Sparks area.

Several horses had limped away and lay dying when authorities found them. Officers had to put them out of their misery.

"It's amazing the number of everyday people that were interested in helping us," Storey County Sheriff's Sgt. Bill Petty said. "I've been getting checks for $5 and $10 from as far away as Florida and Georgia."

Merlino has been charged with grand larceny, grand theft, attempted grand larceny and maiming, poisoning or killing another person's animal. He was being held in the Washoe County Jail on $60,000 bail.

Sarenana, who lived in the apartment next to Merlino for more than a year, said she was not surprised to hear of Merlino's arrest. She said he was arrogant.

"He is dumber than a bag of hammers," she said. "He is the kind of person who would brag about doing something like this. He would just brag and brag all of the time about the animals he killed."

"It was like he thought he could do anything and get away with it."

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