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Man indicted in abuse, killing of pit bull
By Stephanie Hutson, Staff Writer
DeShawn Brown, 21, the man accused of abusing 10-month-old pit bull Mercy, was indicted by the Dallas County grand jury on Aug. 3 on third degree felony charges.
Following a three-month investigation by the district attorney’s office, Brown was indicted for Cruelty to Animals With the Finding of a Deadly Weapon. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
“This is the first step in finding justice for a beautiful, sweet dog that never hurt anyone but suffered so much,” Operation Kindness Executive Director Jonnie England said. “We’re very pleased with the indictment on the enhanced charge, and when it comes to trial I hope he is found guilty and gets the maximum sentence.”
The dog was taken to Operation Kindness, a no-kill shelter in Carrollton, in April after she was discovered huddled at a Dallas apartment complex near Preston and Belt Line Roads. According to an affidavit by Dallas police officer J.L. Stone, Brown stabbed the dog, cut her throat and set her on fire using gasoline in an attempt to kill her.
The affidavit states that Brown became angry with the pit bull mix on April 13 when she would not breed with a neighbor’s dog. One witness reports seeing Brown carry the dog behind a dumpster with a knife and later carry her back to his apartment, obviously bleeding.
Later that night, another neighbor saw the dog running through the parking lot “totally engulfed in flames,” the affidavit states. The neighbor cornered the dog and put out the flames, and Brown appeared with a red gas can claiming the dog caught herself on fire while trying to get food from a barbeque pit.
Brown later told the same story to police, but told neighbors drug dealers set his dog on fire because he owed them money. He bragged to others about killing the dog, saying “how he was a wanted man now because of the TV coverage the offense was getting,” the affidavit stated.
Mercy, named by Operation Kindness staff, was cared for but died due to her injuries on April 24. Brown was arrested in Corinth on April 27.
Mercy’s story attracted international attention and sympathy, inspiring one English woman to write a song about her. England has also received cards from Florida, Denmark and other locations from across the U.S. and world.
“This little dog touched so many people, and we have the fund ‘For Mercy’s Sake’ to help other animals, but we also want to spread the message that animal abuse will not be tolerated,” England said. “If we can have an impact in that way, then we will know that Mercy will not have died in vain.”
The fund established in memory of Mercy, “For Mercy’s Sake,” helps other abused or neglected animals the shelter takes in. In most cases, England said, they see animals suffering from neglect, car accident injuries and abandonment.
“The people who donated to Operation Kindness under Mercy’s name have allowed us to take care of more animals like that,” she said.
England has worked with Operation Kindness for more than 20 years, and has served as director for nine. She said Mercy’s case is one of the worst incidents of animal abuse she has seen.
“We’ve seen a lot of abuse cases, far too many, but this is clearly an act of pure rage,” she said. “With the extent of the wounds and the viciousness and the fact that it was so malicious, it is clear that he only had the goal of killing her and making her suffer n it’s about as bad as it gets.”
England and the Operation Kindness staff were pleased to see the charge upgraded, but England said she would like to see an even harsher punishment for Mercy’s abuser.
“I am happy to the extent that under current Texas law this is the maximum punishment he can get,” she said. “Is this enough punishment for what he did? No.”
No trial date has been set, but Operation Kindness will continue to post updates on its Web site at www.operationkindness.org.
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