POINSETT COUNTY, AR (KAIT) - A Trumann man faces multiple counts of aggravated cruelty to animals after deputies say he slit the throats of several puppies and tossed them in a ditch.
Poinsett County sheriff’s deputies arrested 58-year-old Jerry D. Miller of Trumann after a witness reported on Wednesday, Dec. 26, they saw him cut the throats of several puppies.
The tipster, according to Sheriff Molder, told dispatch they saw Miller on Highway 214 and Henderson Lane cut the throats, then throw the puppies into the ditch.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the witness provided a description of the suspect’s car and the license plate number. The witness also reportedly followed Miller to his home on Highway 214, then contacted police.
Detective Winkles of the sheriff’s office met with the witness, then went to the scene where he found five black puppies dead in the ditch.
He also reported finding blood on the bridge above the ditch where the bodies had been dumped.
Winkles then went to Miller’s home and attempted to make contact with him. No one was at the residence, but the detective said he found more puppies that were alive and looked similar to the ones dumped in the ditch.
On Thursday, Dec. 27, after reviewing the probable cause affidavit, a judge issued a warrant for Miller’s arrest.
Miller is currently being held in the Poinsett County Detention Center on suspicion of five counts of aggravated cruelty to a dog, one for each puppy.
Sheriff Molder said the Harrisburg Animal Shelter, Trumann Animal Shelter, and Northeast Arkansas Humane Society properly buried the dead puppies. They also removed all the dogs at Miller’s residence.
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