SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 17, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A man has been booked into jail after Salt Lake City Police say he fatally stabbed a dog in a local motel room.
Daniel Duane Etherington, 45, faces charges of:
- Aggravated cruelty to animals intentional or knowingly, a class A misdemeanor
- Criminal trespass, a class B misdemeanor
A probable cause statement filed in Etherington’s case says a Salt Lake City Police officer responded to the Gateway Inn, at 819 W. North Temple, on Saturday.
“Daniel Etherington stabbed a dog to death inside a motel room at the Gateway Inn,” the SLCPD officer said. “There were no witnesses to this incident. Daniel stated post Miranda that he acted in self-defense when the dog tried to bite him. However, evidence at the scene does not match Daniel’s description.”
Motel management told the investigating officer Etherington had previously trespassed at the Gateway Inn “and is not welcome there. The motel room belongs to the dog owner who also states Daniel was not supposed to be there.”
The dog’s owner “stated that Daniel has told him twice that he was going to kill the animal,” the statement says. “Furthermore, Daniel removed the body and dumped it away from the scene and never notified the owner or law enforcement or animal control of the circumstance. The dog’s corpse has not yet been found.”
Etherington’s bail was set at $25,000. As of Sunday afternoon, he remained incarcerated at the Salt Lake County Jail.
So, this guy kills a dog (which is heinous), and trespasses, and his bail is set at $25,000, but we have a guy in Spanish Fork who was in possession of many illegal drugs, including enough Fentanyl to KILL 16,000 people, with the intention to distribute, and an illegal firearm, and he gets out on a $10,000 bond. Got it.