Pit bulls neglected, two stolen
Bauxite, AR (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 13, 2007
County: Saline
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Jason Bernard Ellison
Jason Bernard Ellison, 22, of Bauxite was found guilty of three counts of animal cruelty in a trial was before Saline County District Judge Mike Robinson.
The case stemmed from a September incident involving stolen pit bull dogs.
Ellison was found guilty on Dec 19, 2007.
On Sept. 13, Vicki Warner of Benton told Bauxite police that she found two of her pit bull dogs that had been reported missing in April. They were at a house at 5420 Pine St. in Bauxite.
Warner said that when she saw her dogs she talked with Ellison, who told her that the dogs were his. He offered to sell her the dogs for $600.
At that point, Warner contacted Bauxite police and said that she could prove the dogs were hers with pictures, scars and documentation from previous veterinarian records.
"Mrs. Warner came to me and said that she found her stolen pit bulls," Bauxite Police Chief Jimmy B. Hood said.
"We then took her to the home on Pine Street and one of the dogs she said was name 'Shady' came right up to her clearly recognizing her ... the dog knew her, followed her to her car and just jumped right in. The other dog we later found inside the home."
Hood said that when they arrived at the home, they found a yard with six pit bull dogs with no shelter, no food and no water. Officers then found Ellison at the home who told them that he owned the dogs. After checking over the two dogs for identifiable marks, the chief said the marks matched the description that Warner gave earlier. Ellison told officers he bought the dogs from someone in Benton and dogs must have been stolen before bought them. He was placed under arrest for two counts of theft by receiving and six counts of cruelty to animals.
Warner was allowed to take custody of the two dogs she described and Hood called Ann Sanders of the Saline County Humane Society to evaluate the conditions that the dogs were being kept. Ellison was taken to the Saline County jail.
"There was no food or water for those dogs," said Hood. "It was was about 104 degrees...it was really hot and the dogs didn't have much shelter. Many of them dug holes to try and stay cool."
According to a report by Sanders many of the dogs had no food or shelter. The only water for some of the dogs were buckets with a small amount green-looking water. One dog was found tangled under a porch and unable to reach a bucket of water. A pit bull mix puppy was also reportedly found limping with pale gums and was too small to reach the water from a bucket.
A report said that the dogs were fed, watered and given treatment before leaving. The next day Sanders returned and found that no one was taking care of the animals who were outside in a 104-degree temperature. The dogs were taken to the Benton Veterinarian Hospital and all found to have temperatures.
Hood said that the theft by receiving charge was dropped in Wednesday's court hearing because Warner did not realize she had to appear in court against Ellison, but the court found Ellison guilty on three of the six counts of cruelty to animals.
"Overall I think my officers did a good job on this case," said Hood. "We are going to be watching for any animals that aren't being taken care of and if we find them, there will be charges filed."
Ellison is scheduled to appear before the Saline County district court on Jan. 23, 2008 for his sentencing. References
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