St. Croix man held on animal cruelty charge after shears attack on dog

A 61-year-old St. Croix resident has been jailed following his arrest Monday on charges that he attacked a neighbourhood dog with gardening shears while the animal was secured behind a locked gate.

Mario W. Webster of Plot 156 Williams Delight faces first-degree animal abuse and disturbance of the peace charges. He appeared before Superior Court Magistrate Yolan C. Brow Ross on Tuesday for an Advice of Rights hearing, with legal representation from the Office of the Territorial Public Defender. His bail was set at $7,500. Unable to pay, he was remanded to the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility in Golden Grove.

Police responded around 4:35 p.m. Monday to Plot 60 Williams Delight after receiving reports of an intruder attacking a dog on the property. The dog's owner, Jomo Meade, had left work after a neighbouring resident, Roberto Carmona, alerted him to the incident. When Meade arrived home, he found his 10-year-old mixed-breed chow, Ama, suffering severe injuries to his face and snout from multiple puncture wounds and cuts.

When questioned, Webster told police he had used the shears to separate two fighting dogs and that Ama's head was protruding through the gate. That account did not hold up under investigation. Carmona, watching from his property at Plot 59, told police he witnessed Webster "digging the shears at the dog" while the animal stood alone and defenceless. A second witness corroborated Carmona's version, stating Webster was not truthful and that any earlier disturbance between the dogs had occurred well before the attack.

K9 Officer Millissa Vigilant, the police department's animal cruelty specialist, examined Meade's fence and found it intact with no damage, breaks or openings. The gate remained fully closed and locked with a heavy chain and padlock. Webster's own brown dog, inspected at his residence, was tied securely and bore no signs of injury or fight wounds.

When asked to produce the weapon, Webster gave conflicting accounts before directing officers to a vehicle parked at Plot 154. Officers recovered gardening shears stained with blood from the vehicle. A veterinary technician provided emergency care to Ama at the scene before the dog was taken to a local veterinary clinic for further treatment.