CARBON COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 15, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Wellington man has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty after he allegedly beat two puppies on Christmas Day
Jordan Andrew Westerlund, 35, was charged with two counts of class A misdemeanor aggravated cruelty to animals — intentional or knowingly, according to a probable cause statement from the 7th District Court of Carbon County. Both puppies died from the beatings.
The statement said that on Dec. 25, the arresting officer responded to an address in Wellington on an animal complaint. A man and his daughter, who live there, said something was wrong with their puppy and another puppy was missing. The homeowner said his daughter and her boyfriend, identified as Westerlund, were at home and were taking care of the puppies that day.
“I made contact with Jordan inside the residence and he showed me the puppy” the statement said. “The puppy was clearly having trouble breathing.”
The girlfriend and a neighbor were able to contact a veterinarian in Castle Dale and took the puppy there.
“Jordan was extremely nervous and was not making any sense about what had happened to the puppy,” the statement said. “I advised Jordan of his rights per Miranda and he stated he understood. He stated he did not know what was wrong with the puppy. He stated he took them out to go to the bathroom and the one slipped through the fence and ran off and the other one he took inside. Jordan stated he did not know where the other puppy ran off to.”
Westerlund then admitted to hitting the puppies and “maybe hitting them a little too hard.”
The statement goes on: “He stated the one puppy did not run off but stated it had died in its kennel and he panicked and took the deceased puppy in a garbage bag down the road and discarded it off in the bushes.”
Westerlund then took the arresting officer to retrieve the deceased puppy.
The girlfriend then called from the vet and said the veterinarian had told her other the puppy had suffered severe trauma to the head, but he was not certain how, and he wasn’t sure if the animal would make it. The puppy had broken blood vessels in its eyes, which was consistent with brain trauma. That puppy later passed away too. The deceased puppy that was in the garbage bag had the same broken blood vessels in its right eye.
“Jordan changed his story several times, and was not consistent with any of the story he was telling,” the statement said. “Jordan stated he became very angry after they would pee and poop on him.”
Several neighbors filled out statements saying they witnessed Westerlund hitting the puppies.
Westerlund is homeless and is on felony probation out of Utah County, the statement said.
He was booked into Carbon County Jail with his bail set at $3,900.
