Case Details
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Case Snapshot
Case ID: 17442
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
More cases in Allen County, IN
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Child or elder neglect
Drugs or alcohol involved
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Attorneys/Judges
Prosecutor(s): Karen Richards
Judge(s): Wendy Davis


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Case #17442 Rating: 3.3 out of 5



Emaciated dog found during search
Fort Wayne, IN (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Feb 17, 2011
County: Allen

Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony Non-CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 4 files available

Defendant/Suspect: Antonio Rico Morales

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

A badly malnourished dog is discovered, as Allen County police serve a search warrant on a Northwest Fort Wayne home.

A Chihuahua named "Chico" is being nursed back to health by city animal control staff.

One officer called it the worst animal neglect case he's ever worked.

If not for the search warrant, the dog probably was doomed.

Allen County warrants officers went to 1209 Ralph Avenue on Thursday, looking for a Juan Salas.

They didn't find him, but they found drugs, cash, a gun, and an emaciated dog put through a very bad ordeal.

We warn you, some might consider the accompanying video disturbing.

Santino Morales, his brother Antonio Morales, and Taylor Talley are charged with felony crimes, after cocaine, pot, paraphernalia, a gun and a two-year old girl were discovered in the search.

Police also unrolled a towel in a garage, revealing what one officer described as "…A very sickening and stomach turning sight."

Police say the dog was skin and bones, collapsed when it tried to stand, and could barely move its tongue to drink.

It was taken to the animal control shelter, suffering from multiple problems.

Belinda Lewis/Animal Control Shelter: " Normal temperature for a dog is 101 degrees. Our thermometers go down to 95 degrees and his temperature did not even register on a thermometer. He was in advanced hypothermia, advanced dehydration, along with malnutrition."

City animal control staff worked 129 animal neglect and cruelty cases in 2010.

Antonio Morales is expected to face misdemeanor animal cruelty charges in this case.

There's no evidence the two-year old girl in the home suffered any harm.

A grandmother came to take custody of the girl.

But Antonio Morales and Taylor Talley, the parents, both face felony child neglect charges, because the girl was sleeping in the same room where drugs and the loaded handgun were found.

Here's More on the circumstances surrounding the home search.

19-year-old Santino Morales answered the door and told the officer that Juan Salas, his brother and who police were looking for, was not there. Officers asked if they could come in and talk about Salas with Morales and his brother, 18-year-old Antonio Morales, who was also in the apartment. Santino Morales stepped aside to allow the officer in. At that time, Antonio Morales walked out with the 2-year-old girl…later identified as his daughter.

Officers then asked for permission to search the apartment for Juan Salas. Reports indicate both Santino and Antonio Morales gave verbal permission.

A search of the apartment turned up marijuana and a gun that turned out to be stolen. Officers also discovered more than $1,200.00. Officers then contacted Vice and Narcotics, who made the scene and requested a search warrant…which was granted. They also contacted the Department of Child Services about the 2-year-old girl.

Following a more thorough search of the apartment, officers headed to the darkened garage, where the Chihuahua was found. The officer helped the Chihuahua up on its feet and a black, thick, tar-like fluid came out of the dog's behind…and then the dog collapsed and was trying to get back up on its feet. The officer gave the dog some water, but 'the little guy could hardly move its tongue to drink'. The officers put a clean, soft towel in the bottom of a large container and called Fort Wayne Animal Control.

In an interview later, Antonio Morales told the Animal Control officer that he got 'Chico' the Chihuahua from his grandmother a few months ago. He said he knew it was sick, but never took it to the vet.

Police also called in 18-year-old Taylor Talley for questioning. She is identified as the girlfriend of Antonio Morales and the mother of the 2-year-old in the apartment.

She was placed under arrest and charged with felony Child Neglect.

Antonio Morales is charged with Possession of Stolen Property, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Paraphernalia, Neglect of a Child and Cruelty to an Animal.

Santino Morales is charged with Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Paraphernalia.


Case Updates

A man accused of neglecting his daughter, and his dog, received a one-year sentence Monday in Allen Superior Court.

Antonio R. Morales, 19, pleaded guilty last month to Class D felony charges of neglect of a dependent and possession of marijuana, as well as a Class A misdemeanor charge of cruelty to an animal.

On Monday, Allen Superior Court Judge Wendy Davis sentenced Morales to one year in prison or work release and one year on probation for each felony charge, as well as one year in prison or work release on the misdemeanor. Accepting the terms of the plea agreement, Davis ordered the sentences to be served at the same time.

An additional charge of possession of paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, was dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Morales must also pay $147 in restitution to Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control.

After Morales' sentencing Monday, Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards said her office has seen a disturbing increase in the cases of animal neglect and abuse, particularly in domestic violence situations.

"That's a phenomenon that really worries me," Richards said.

Earlier this month, prosecutors charged a 25-year-old woman with killing a domestic animal, a felony. Santana Bean, of the 4300 block of Weisser Park Avenue, is accused of strangling her boyfriend's pit bull puppy with a speaker wire because she was angry the boyfriend did not return home the night before.

Richards handled Morales' case, and is handling Bean's case herself.

While the Chihuahua was struggling for its life in the garage, inside Morales' apartment a larger-breed dog was well-cared for and properly fed, Richards said.

Media attention immediately focused on the endangered Chihuahua puppy, but Morales' own daughter, for whom he cared while her mother attended high school, was also seriously at risk, Richards said.

But because of child protection laws, no information about the toddler was ever made available.

"You don't get to know what happened to the child," Richards said.

She said the child is now in the custody of Morales' family, and because of that, she said she pushed for parenting classes as part of Morales' probation.

"He needs some parenting skills," she said.

Richards urged anyone who sees animal neglect or abuse to call the police, just as they would with children.

"If you're seeing abuse to an animal, there's a really good chance that there's also abuse to a child, or to a spouse or to a partner," she said.
Source: journalgazette.net - Sep 27, 2011
Update posted on Sep 27, 2011 - 9:46PM 
A Fort Wayne man accused of neglecting his 2-year-old daughter and a Chihuahua has struck a plea deal with prosecutors that calls for him to serve as much as a year behind bars and a year on probation.

The toddler was placed in her grandmother's care after Child Protective Services intervened. Meanwhile, the Chihuahua, once an emaciated 3 pounds, now weighs about 6 pounds and has a new home.

Antonio R. Morales, 19, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Allen Superior Court to felony neglect of a dependent, felony marijuana possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty. A fourth count of drug paraphernalia possession is to be dismissed.

Morales is set to be sentenced Sept. 26 by Superior Court Judge Wendy Davis. Two other people, including the toddler's mother, were arrested in connection with Morales' case, which came about Feb. 17.

That day, Allen County police were trying to serve an arrest warrant at an apartment at 1209 Ralph Ave., near Goshen Avenue, in northwest Fort Wayne.

Officers did not find the person they were looking for, but they came across two bags of marijuana, partly smoked marijuana cigarettes, scales used to weigh drugs, a handgun that was listed as stolen and Morales' daughter, who had access to all those items, according to a police report.

In the apartment's garage, officers discovered the sickly Chihuahua that was wrapped in a towel. The dog, Chico, could not stand or hold up his head.

Chico was taken to an animal shelter where he was nursed back to health. One of the officers who found Chico, Brock Williams, told his wife about the dog, and they decided to adopt him.

Along with a new home, Chico got a new name. Williams said another county officer suggested the pup be renamed Pogo because he "bounces back." Not sure about the name, Williams consulted with his wife, who liked it, so it stuck.

Williams said Pogo gets along with his four kids and the family's two other dogs. He said the pup has a penchant for licking his 2-year-old son's face.

On occasion, though, Pogo is a tad skittish. When Williams tries to take him outside, he'll sometimes run under a table. "You just got to get down on your hands and knees and lull him to you," Williams said.

Whether such behavior is a result of Pogo's past or if that's just his nature, Williams isn't certain. What he does know is that Pogo beat the odds.

"He wasn't supposed to survive. That's how bad he was," Williams said. "We definitely, definitely got a happy ending in the whole deal."
Source: journalgazette.net - Aug 18, 2011
Update posted on Aug 21, 2011 - 7:51PM 
Antonio Morales was back in court Thursday morning after failing to appear at his last hearing.

Morales, 18, is the owner of "Chico," the severely malnourished dog found in Fort Wayne back in February.

The prosecutor charged him with several crimes, including neglect of a dependent and animal cruelty.

Police were serving a search warrant at Morale's apartment on Ralph Avenue in Fort Wayne when they discovered the staring Chihuahua and a two-year-old living in the apartment.

The toddler was also surrounded by drugs, scales, a gun and a lot of cash.

Brock Williams, one of the officers who found Chico, adopted him in March.

A judge set a trial date Thursday for August 23, 2011.
Source: wane.com - May 5, 2011
Update posted on May 5, 2011 - 8:10PM 

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