Dog starved to death
Millville, NJ (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Jan 22, 2009
County: Cumberland
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Jose Ramirez
» Jonathan R. Lewis
Two men will face animal cruelty charges after investigators found a young pit bull that was apparently starved to death behind a vacant home here, authorities said Thursday.
Bev Greco, executive director of the Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the animal was discovered Thursday in the 300 block of Vine Street after a neighbor called police.
"She was severely, severely emaciated," Greco said. The dog was found inside a pen in the back yard, with an empty bag of dog food on the porch.
According to Greco, the tenant, Jose Ramirez, told police the dog belonged to his stepson, 21-year-old Jonathan R. Lewis. Ramirez told police he wasn't aware the dog had been left behind when they moved out recently.
Greco said pending the outcome of a necropsy on Saturday, the SPCA will file animal cruelty charges against the men. Those charges could include failure to provide sustenance, inflicting unnecessary cruelty and failure to provide veterinary care, Greco said.
"We will be prosecuting this to the fullest extent, and we will ask that it be sent up as an indictable charge" to state Superior Court, she said.
In Municipal Court, the maximum penalty for animal cruelty is a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. But in Superior Court, each would face a maximum penalty of three to five years in state prison.
Greco said the incident isn't related to a Jan. 1 discovery of three dead pit bulls inside trash bags on Glenside Road. References |
