Arizona- A Mesa Fire Department battalion chief was placed on administrative leave on Monday after being arrested in a bestiality case.

Police say Leroy Johnson [pictured] went to a residence and knocked on the door of a home where a 13-year-old girl was staying home alone this weekend. When she didn’t answer, he went into the back yard, police said, and took a lamb into a nearby barn.

“One could certainly ascertain that if you’re in a barn and in a secluded area with a lamb and you’re behind her and your pants are down by your ankles, then an unnatural sex act is probably occurring,” said Lisa Allen of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office.

Johnson is facing misdemeanor criminal trespassing and public sexual indecency charges.

Officials with the Mesa Fire Department, responding to Johnson’s arrest , said he’s been an exemplary employee for the past 26 years, adding that they are shocked and surprised.

Johnson will remain on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.