Crime & Safety

Putnam SPCA: Man Didn't Pay Restitution After Stabbing Dog

Putnam County SPCA officers have arrested a 38-year-old Eastchester man—who served time in jail after stabbing his mother's 15-year-old labrador retriever—for failing to pay court-ordered restitution, authorities say.

The defendant is accused of repeatedly stabbing Satchel the black lab in 2008. At the time authorities charged him with felony animal cruelty. He spent a year in jail. He was also required to pay $8,032.50 in restitution, which he never did, the SPCA said.

The man, who was living in Putnam Valley at the time of the dog's death, is now facing a misdemeanor charge of second-degree criminal contempt. Officials arrested him Saturday at the Brewster train station.

Following arraignment, he was sent to the Putnam County Correctional Facility on $10,000 bail pending a Sept. 24 appearance in court.

The dog survived the attack but later died of complications, Putnam County SPCA Chief Ken Ross told Patch.

"My understanding is that he was full of rage," Ross said when asked what prompted the incident. "...He does have a long criminal history of violence and I also think that alcohol may have played some part of it."

Officers tracked down the defendant—who was released from jail on reckless endangerment charges days earlier—at the train station after speaking with his family and checking locations he frequents. At one point the man was reportedly living in the woods, according to Ross.


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