Authorities say a 46-year-old Tampa man stabbed his neighbor's 14-month-old dog three times with a steak knife on Oct 1, cutting the dog so deeply that he underwent surgery several days later.
Dwayne Bunn, a resident of the Petit Mobile Home Park on 50th Street in Tampa, was booked into the county jail on the afternoon of Monday, Oct 3 on one count of animal cruelty, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
According to county officials, Bunn's next-door neighbor, Lydia Schultz, called Hillsborough County Animal Services that Monday and said Bunn stabbed Rock, her 53-pound hound mix, on Saturday (Oct 1) while she was not home. Animal Services officials said he has never shown signs of aggression. Schultz tried unsuccessfully to treat Rock's wounds over the weekend.
According to county officials, Bunn admitted to animal investigator Cpl. Ken Vetzel that he stabbed the dog. He went inside his mobile home, got the steak knife he used to stab Rock, and handed it over, officials said.
Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies booked Bunn into the county jail. He posted $2,000 bond and was released later. Vetzel took Rock to an emergency veterinarian, where he was given intravenous fluids.
The following Tuesday, the dog was in stable condition following surgery for the knife wounds. He will be returned to Schultz soon.
County records show Bunn has a history of arrests in Hillsborough. In 2001, he was found guilty of one count of exposure of a sexual organ and sentenced to 30 days in the county jail. Case UpdatesA Tampa man was found guilty March 22, 2006 of a misdemeanor cruelty to animals charge. Dwayne Bunn, 46, repeatedly stabbed his neighbor's 6-month-old dog, Rock, with a steak knife on Oct. 1, 2005. However, he testified he did it in self defense.
Bunn told the court the 53-pound hound mix somehow got off his leash and attacked him on the steps of his trailer at the Petit Mobile Home Park on 50th Street. The dog had surgery after the stabbing, but recovered. Judge William Fuente wasn't convinced Bunn committed felony animal cruelty, but he did find enough evidence to convict him of the lesser offense of cruelty to animals.
The dog's owner, Lydia Schultz, isn't happy with the misdemeanor conviction, and hopes Bunn gets the maximum sentence. "I know for a fact that he viciously stabbed my dog while my dog was on a leash," said Schultz. "You know, while he was in the house, why didn't he call 911, tell 'em he had a dog out here trying to eat him?" Bunn will be sentenced in Fuente's courtroom on March 23, 2006. | Source: Bay News 9 - March 22, 2006
Update posted on Mar 24, 2006 - 5:26PM |
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