A reward is being offered in the death of a well-known New Jersey landscaper.
The Citizens Crime Commission is offering $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the murder of Louis Sweet outside his home on the 700 block of Lakehurst Road in Brown Milles, Burlington County on September 24.
Police say armed men approached Sweet around 11 p.m., shooting and killing him as well as shooting his dog.
The men shot the Sweet -- who owned Little Lou's Tree Service -- multiple times in the chest. Sweet's five children were at home at the time, according to a neighbor. None of the kids were hurt.
A stray bullet however entered the home and struck Sweet's dog. Someone inside the home then called 911, according to investigators.
Pemberton Township Police found Sweet in the front yard of the home and rushed him to Lourdes-Deborah Hospital where he died about an hour later, according to Burlington County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Joel Bewley.
The dog was taken to a veterinary hospital. Its condition wasn't known.
A friend of Sweet's, who asked not to be identified himself, told NBC10’s Katy Zachry that three to four masked attackers attacked Sweet, pushed his girlfriend to the ground and shot the pet inside, shot Sweet and then ran off into the woods.
Investigators didn't give a motive for the attack. Originally it was believed the attack happened inside the home; investigators however didn't mention if the armed men ever went inside.
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The house is located on a quiet, wooded street in the town that is about 35 miles east of Philadelphia.
Anyone with information on the crime is urged to call police.
