Man leaving bar in Washington County accused by police of abusing dog, DUI
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A Jefferson Hills man was arrested by police in Washington County on Friday after witnesses reported they saw him retrieve a cocker spaniel that jumped out of his pickup by grabbing its neck and “throwing it back into the bed” of the truck at a gas station.
Robert P. Kelley Jr., 39, was charged by Monongahela police with animal cruelty, driving under the influence, careless driving, disorderly conduct and multiple traffic citations following the 11:30 p.m. incident that occurred at a Sunoco station near Bob’s By the Tracks Bar along Route 88 in Finleyville, according to court documents. The complaints were filed Monday before McMurray District Judge Jesse Pettit.
Kelley was driven to the Peters Township Police Department for a breath test, which registered 0.214% — or nearly triple the legal level in Pennsylvania, according to court documents.
Officer Zlatan Avdic reported that police received complaints of a truck driving erratically after leaving the bar and as they approached saw the truck pull out of the gas station on to Washington Avenue without signaling. Avdic reported that the truck was swerving and he could see “the dog in the bed of the truck getting tossed from side to side.”
After stopping the truck, Avdic reported that he detected an odor of alcohol. Kelley was asked to consent to a breath test and court documents said he became belligerent “yelling at officers at the scene.”
As police were placing him under arrest, two witnesses arrived to report that they saw the dog jump out of the bed of the truck when Kelley stopped at the gas station and he retrieved it by grabbing its neck and tossing it “with force” into the truck bed.
When officers asked Kelley if there was a family member to come pick up the dog, Avdic said Kelley suggested officers “can just put the dog down.”
“By that, I believe he meant I could kill the dog,” Avdic wrote in court documents.
Police subsequently turned the dog over to an area animal shelter.
Kelley was served the complaints via mailed summons.
He could not be reached for comment.