ROY, Utah, March 5, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A Roy man previously charged with torture of a companion animal on Wednesday was booked and released at the Weber County jail.
Nakia David Simmons, 46, is charged in connection with the death of his 8-week-old chihuahua on Oct. 20, 2021. The charge is a third-degree felony.
Simmons’ probable cause statement says that on that October day, witnesses reported he threw his puppy from the top step at his house into the yard, and left the pup outside all day without shelter. Temperatures were in the 40s and 50s that day.
Witnesses also said Simmons had threatened multiple times to kill the puppy, the statement says.
“Upon arrival, officers located Nakia, who admitted to punching the puppy and killing it,” the affidavit says. “The body of the puppy was preserved and sent for necropsy.”
The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma, the statement says, adding that injuries to the puppy included hemorrhages in multiple locations, including the brain, damage several organs, and skin abrasions.
Simmons made his first court appearance on Thursday, and the judge issued a request for discovery, which means he wanted evidence and information gathered on the current offense and previous cases involving Simmons as a juvenile and adult.
Simmons’ next court date has not yet been scheduled.
