Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Puppy beaten to death

Puppy beaten to death
Fairfield, ME (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Jul 31, 2004
County: Somerset
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted

Abuser/Suspect: James L. Mayhew, IV

Case Updates: 5 update(s) available

Case ID: 2637

Classification: Beating

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Abuse was retaliation against animal's bad behavior

Police Tuesday arrested James Mayhew, a 25-year-old Fairfield man, and charged him with felony aggravated animal cruelty after he allegedly beat his puppy to death using only his hands.

Officer Shanna Messer said the dog, a four-month-old husky-wolf mix, died on July 31.

James Mayhew is charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Mayhew was released later in the day Tuesday on $1,000 cash bond, according to Fairfield police Officer Shanna Messer.

"He had a 4-month-old husky-wolf-mix puppy, which was beaten over a period of two months," Messer said. "And on July 31, the puppy died."

Messer said the arrest was based on accounts given to police by four different witnesses and based on the results of an autopsy done by a local veterinarian.

"We knew where he was, but we were accumulating witness statements and autopsy results," she said. "In the autopsy it was concluded the puppy had a broken rib, a severely bruised lung and bruised muscles around the head and ears."

Messer stated the dog had a blood clot and excess blood in its lungs.

The veterinarian stated that the puppy either bled to death or suffocated on its own blood and the injuries that the dog had were consistent with being beaten and blunt force trauma.

Mayhew has no other pets or animals at his Mountain Avenue home, according to Messer. He apparently had seen the dog being advertised for sale in the area and made the purchase once the animal was weaned at 6 or 8 weeks old.

Mayhew is free on bail but is scheduled to appear in Skowhegan District Court on September 15, 2004.

Skowhegan County Court
47 Court Street
Skowhegan, ME 04976
Phone (207) 474-9518

Case Updates

James Mayhew, 26, was sentenced on May 24, 2005 to an additional year in prison by Superior Court Justice S. Kirk Studstrup for failing to report on time to serve his 18 month sentence.

District Attorney Evert N. Fowle said the sentence was an appropriate one for the Fairfield man. Police found Mayhew hiding out in a Waterville Hotel Room in February, two months after he failed to report to the Somerset County Jail on Dec. 27 as required by Superior Court Chief Justice Nancy Mills.

Police were tipped off by a citizen. Arrest warrants are issued automatically when people fail to report to jail.

Mills allowed Mayhew to wait until after Christmas to begin serving his term. Fowle said his office takes a dim view of people who take advantage of the court system, especially after they have already been given a break.

"The system has to have integrity and the jokers out there who (fail to report to jail on time) deserve to know they are going to get punished and get punished fairly severely," said Fowle.

Mayhew was convicted in November of beating a 4-month-old wolf-hybrid puppy to death with his fists, apparently because the puppy urinated in his apartment.

A veterinarian who performed the autopsy told police that it either bled to death or suffocated in its own blood.

Source: Morning Sentinel - May 26, 2005
Update posted on Jun 28, 2005 - 7:44PM

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Mayhew failed to show up to begin an 18-month jail term for aggravated animal cruelty is in jail following his weekend arrest. Police had been looking for Mayhew since December, when he failed to show up to begin serving his sentence.

Acting on a tip, police arrested Mayhew early Sunday at a Waterville motel room where he was staying with several others. He is being held at the Somerset County Jail in Skowhegan.

When Mayhew was convicted in November, he was given a suspended sentence from his original five-year prison term and allowed to wait until after Christmas before going to jail. When he failed to report to jail on Dec. 27, a warrant was issued for a new felony charge.

By not showing up to serve his time, Mayhew now faces the full five years of the original suspended sentence, plus another five years for not reporting to serve his time, officials said.

Source: Maine Today - Feb 28, 2005
Update posted on Mar 2, 2005 - 11:26AM

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Mayhew was given two breaks by Superior Court Justice Nancy Mills after he pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty, District Attorney Evert Fowle said. He was given a suspended sentence from his original five-year prison term and was allowed to wait until after Christmas to begin serving his time, according to Fowle.

"He did not report," Fowle said. "When he failed to report to the jail on Dec. 27, a warrant was issued for a new felony charge. He's a high priority for this office."

By not showing up to serve his time, Mayhew now faces the full five years of the original suspended sentence, plus another five years for the felony crime of not reporting to serve his time.

Plus, Fowle said, Mayhew's $1,000 bail has been revoked.

"He's in even more trouble than he put himself into at first," he said. "My plan is to bring him back in front of the same judge for sentencing. It was Justice Mills; he has taken advantage of her.

"She's ordinarily a strict judge, but it's fairly common to let people be at home during Christmas."

Police said the puppy was beaten over a period of two months and died on July 31, 2004.

An autopsy concluded the puppy had a broken rib, a severely bruised lung and bruised muscles around the head and ears.

Police said at the time of Mayhew's arrest in November that a veterinarian who performed an autopsy on the animal concluded it either bled to death or suffocated on its own blood.

Mayhew had no other pets or animals at his Mountain Avenue home. He apparently had seen the dog advertised for sale and bought it at 8 or 6 weeks old.

Fairfield police on Tuesday visited the apartment house at the end of Mountain Avenue where Mayhew had lived. They also paid a visit to a mobile home park on Upper Main Street, but did not find Mayhew.

Fairfield Police Chief John Emery said he investigated a rumor some weeks ago that Mayhew was living in Augusta, but that, too, failed to yield any clues as to his whereabouts.

Source: The Morning Sentinel - Feb 16, 2005
Update posted on Feb 20, 2005 - 7:40AM

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Mayhew was sentenced to 18 months behind bars Tuesday for beating a 4-month-old wolf-hybrid puppy to death with his fists. He pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty in Somerset County Superior Court. Superior Court Chief Justice Nancy Mills sentenced Mayhew to five years in prison with all but 18 months suspended.

Mayhew will be on probation for four years after he is released.

The Fairfield man was apparently upset because the puppy urinated in his apartment.

"He beat the dog to death because it urinated inside his residence, but the dog urinated because it was scared to death of him because of past abusive treatment," Fowle said.

Police said the puppy was beaten over a period of two months and died July 31. An autopsy concluded the puppy had a broken rib, a severely bruised lung and bruised muscles around the head and ears.

Source: Kennebec Journal - Dec 9, 2004
Update posted on Dec 12, 2004 - 11:28AM

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James L. Mayhew IV of Fairfield was indicted Wednesday by a Somerset County grand jury. Mayhew, 26, of 54 Mountain Ave., is charged by the grand jury with aggravated cruelty to animals, a Class C felony, punishable with a conviction in court by up to five years in the state prison and a $5,000 fine.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge in October. A jury trial could follow, depending on his plea of guilt or innocence.

Source: The Morning Sentinel - Sept 17, 2004
Update posted on Oct 6, 2004 - 6:00PM

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Puppy beaten to deathFairfield, ME (US)

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Puppy beaten to death
Fairfield, ME (US)