MURRIETA (AP) — A police officer shot a vicious dog roaming a Southern California neighborhood, then followed the wounded animal to the owner's marijuana growing and selling operation.

Murrieta police investigators on Thursday arrested 25-year-old Justin Shaun Armstrong for investigation of cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale. Armstrong is in jail with bail set at $25,000.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise says officers responding to a report of a loose pit bull found it attacking a leashed dog. An officer tried to control the aggressive dog and it tried to bite him.

The officer shot the dog in the head and it ran to a nearby home, where the pot operation was discovered.

The wounded dog resembles a pit bull but is actually an Argentine Dogo. It's being treated by a veterinarian.

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