A man who was charged with killing his own dog last year will serve 14 to 26 months in prison after pleading guilty Friday to one count of felony cruelty to animals, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill said.
Elson Ditrez Warren entered the guilty plea in Forsyth County Superior Court before Judge Aaron Berlin. The charge stemmed from a May 7, 2022, incident in which Winston-Salem police officers went to a dwelling on Petree Road in response to a domestic dispute, and found Warren covered in blood and a dead tan and white American Pit Bull on the property.
Warren denied hurting the dog and told officers the blood was his, police said, but officers were suspicious and asked the Animal Services Division of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office to investigate.
O’Neill said investigators learned that Warren was the owner of the dog, a 28-pound puppy named Blondie. Deputies interviewed witnesses, who said that Warren picked up the dog on the back deck, swung her against the railing, then stomped on the dog repeatedly. When a neighbor yelled at Warren to stop, O’Neill said, the man continued his attack on the dog.
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Investigators found multiple blood spots along the back deck. A necropsy performed by the state medical lab found that the dog died of severe blunt force trauma, with severe injuries to her head, neck, face, front limbs, and thorax.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Parent prosecuted the case. Warren was represented by Public Defender Paul James.
O’Neill said that as a dog owner, he can’t understand why “anyone would hurt an innocent animal that depends on you for everything, much like a child.”
“To abuse the animals who trust and love you is a vile, despicable act that will be prosecuted by my office with the most severe charges possible,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill said his office asked for the maximum penalty against Warren, and that the sentence was “one month shy” of the mark.