UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Oct. 31, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A 22-year-old man was booked into jail Sunday after he allegedly tortured a family member’s dog and assaulted the owner and another woman when they attempted to save the pup from being strangled.
Andrew Dale King was booked into the Salt Lake County jail Sunday for investigation of torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony, and two counts of assault, a class B misdemeanor.
According to King’s charging documents, filed by an officer of the Bluffdale Police Department, King and the two female victims had been in Mesquite, Nevada, earlier in the day, and were late returning to Utah so King could be dropped off in Provo before the women attended a birthday party.
The women told the responding officer that, due to them running late, “Andrew was not able to be dropped off at his house and instead had to go with the victims to a birthday party in Bluffdale,” King’s affidavit says.
“When they arrived to the birthday party, Andrew was mad that he was not home and began to argue with the victims.”
The women said King was holding a puppy that he had bought for (one woman), and the two “began to argue about why he couldn’t just go home. Andrew began to threaten the dog by saying ‘I’m going to euthanize this dog and you can hold its ashes or it’s going up for sale on KSL,'” King’s affidavit says.
“Andrew then began squeezing the dog to the point it was whimpering. Andrew also said he would snap its neck. Andrew continued to squeeze the dog while both victims attempted to talk him down. Andrew continued to squeeze the dog to the point that it was pooping and peeing. The dog appeared to be losing consciousness.”
The women attempted to get the dog away from King, “and Andrew threw both victims to the ground,” leaving one with visible injuries to the knee, finger and wrist.
King began to flee, and the woman with fewer apparent injuries followed him, the statement says.
“He gave up and told her he was calling a Lyft and that is when he left the scene to Provo,” the arrest document says. The document does not specify what happened to the dog.
Interviewed by the Bluffdale officer in Provo, “Andrew told me that he had threatened to harm the dog but was unaware of throwing anybody to the ground. Andrew was placed under arrest and taken to Salt Lake County Jail.
“The victim also told officers that he has killed two hamsters and a bunny in the past,” adding that King “often squeezes the animals in an attempt to manipulate the victim into doing what he wants.”
King initially was ordered to be held without bail. As of Tuesday, his name no longer appears in current inmate records.
