A 56-year-old township man was charged on June 1 with killing his dog after witnesses saw him beating and kicking the animal and throwing her onto the sidewalk outside his apartment a day earlier.
John Chabra, who lives in the New Bedford Road Apartments, was initially charged on May 31 by township police with disorderly conduct after neighbors reported the abuse of Scruffy, a 10-year-old, white-and-tan mixed-breed dog, in the hallway of his apartment building.
The dog was conscious but not moving when police arrived about 6:30 p.m. on May 31. She was taken to Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, where she died the following morning.
"All I saw was her lungs going up and down," said 9-year-old Messiah Gonzalez, pointing to the sidewalk where the dog had lain. "Every time she tried to get up, she just fell back down."
"The dog wasn't like a feisty dog," Chabra's neighbor, Lamont Mitchell, 16, said. "Everybody would pet the dog. She was a nice dog."
An additional charge of animal cruelty was leveled against Chabra by Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief law enforcement officer of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"This guy's a piece of garbage," Amato said. "If these people want to take out their frustration and anger, they can call me. But no, they take it out on some defenseless animal that was probably trying to lick him and love him while he was beating it to death."
If convicted, Chabra faces a fine of up to $1,000, 30 days community service and six months in jail, said Don Poppler of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
Amato said he would push for a jail sentence.
Chabra is being held at the Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Township on $500 bail for the disorderly persons charge. Amato said he would seek a bail increase.
This is not the first time police have responded to an incident involving Chabra, who lives alone.
On Nov. 12, 2004, he was charged with being under the influence of drugs after township police spotted him walking along Route 35, bleeding and wearing only a diaper, underwear and a white sweat shirt, Sgt. Bill Connellan said.
On May 29, authorities were called to Chabra's apartment after neighbors saw him chasing the dog wearing only his underwear, police said. When police arrived, they noticed no signs of abuse to the dog but observed Chabra was "confused."
They said they found his stove on for no reason and medication pills scattered on the floor. Police said he is a user of methadone and a former heroin addict.
Chabra was then taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for observation. The dog was placed in a shelter out of concern that Chabra couldn't care for her, but he retrieved the dog the next day after he had been released from the hospital, police said.
Chabra's neighbors said they frequently heard him screaming at the dog. References« Back to Search Results
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