Puppy beaten and kicked Akron, OH (US) Incident Date: Thursday, Jul 26, 2001 County: Summit Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Case Images: 1 files available Abuser/Suspect: Safaa Abdu Al-Zerjawi

Case ID: 899 Classification: Beating, Kicking/Stomping Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in OH (US) Login to Watch this Case

Safaa Abdu Al-Zerjawi, 27, pleaded no contest and was found guilty of the misdemeanor charge in Akron Municipal Court. He faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine in sentencing by Judge John Holcomb which is scheduled for Oct 25.

The key evidence in the case against Al-Zerjawi was a video made by a neighbor which shows the owner hitting and kicking the boxer. The conviction was largely because of the amateur video made by a neighbor who lives in the home behind him.

The beating which was taped by a neighbor lasted about 10 minutes. The animal can be seen being hit with a shoe, kicked, picked up by her ears and carried several feet with her legs twisted behind her head.

In exchange for Al-Zerjawi's plea, the prosecutors dropped two lesser charges of failure to register a dog and failure to vaccinate a dog.

The incident which occurred on July 26 in the backyard of Al-Zerjawi's Ardella Avenue home was taped by a neighbor. After the police viewed the video tape, he was arrrested and the dog was placed in the custody of the Humane Society of Greater Akron.

The conviction means he will not be able to get custody of his dog which has received the name of Heidi by the Humane Society officials. Al-Zerjawi was ordered not to get any other pets before his sentencing.

Assistant City Prosecutor Michael Defibaugh, said "He will be punished, but we also want to make sure he doesn't do this again to any dog or anyone else."

The first part of the video shows Al-Zerjawi's back to the camera and it looks like he doesn't know he's being taped. Linda Foster, the neighbor taping the incident, can be heard uttering her disbelief over what she is taping. "I really think the guy is going to kill this dog," she says after seeing him pick the dog up by the ears for the first time.

At the end of the tape Al-Zerjawi picks the dog up by one of her ears, turns around to face the camera and smiles.

Prosecutors have contacted the Immigration and Nautralization Service about Al-Zerjawi's immigration status. He is from Iraq and has a green card to live in the United States for about two years.

If the INS finds his crime constitutes "a crime of moral turpitude," he could face deportation.

The Humane Society says Heidi will be available for adoption. The agency is having the dog spayed and will do testing to make sure the boxer's temperament has not been affected by the ordeal before she is adopted.

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

	The Beacon Journal
	19 News
	The Canton Repository

« OH State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.