EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – A 26-year-old El Paso man was arrested on Wednesday and charged with Cruelty to Animals stemming from a three week investigation that was conducted by the El Paso Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit.
Jonathan Jay Oneal was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on a $7500 bond.
According to the El Paso Police Department, Animal Services initially received a complaint of a dead animal on an apartment balcony at 9455 Viscount Blvd.
Authorities said a 5-year-old male Husky, Leo, was found in a state of decomposition in deplorable conditions.
Recent recorded temperatures had been as high as 103 degrees.
EPPD said Leo had no access to food or water and the apartment balcony was covered in feces.
Oneal initially denied ownership of Leo, however, further inquiry by investigators found Leo was microchipped and registered to Oneal.
The Department’s ACIU wants to remind the public to keep your pets protected from the heat. Failure to provide them with adequate shelter, food and water is a crime.
Please call 311 if you see an animal in distress.
This isn’t Oneal’s first brush with the law, Oneal was accused of firing a weapon out of a moving vehicle in December of 2019 that went viral on social media.
