SOMERVILLE — On Wednesday, July 3, 2024, at around 10:24 p.m., Officer Patrick Barton of the Somerville Police Department responded to a call about a dog with its mouth tied shut on the back porch of 103 Gilman Street, Apt. 1.
Officers Christine Bork, Brian Pavao, and Alexander Lorenti also responded to the scene.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from a summary of the incident written by Officer Barton in Somerville Police Department’s weekly arrest log and do not reflect any political or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Upon arrival, Officers made their way to the rear of the house and onto the back porch of 103 Gilman Street, Apt. 2, where I observed what appeared to be a young German Shepherd, leashed to the railing of the back porch of Apartment 1, with something tied around its mouth and a red/pink rash on its back,” Officer Barton said.
Officer Barton said that the porch was inaccessible from outside the apartment building because it was covered in an “immense” amount of trash.
“I would like to note that the porch was inaccessible from outside due to the immense trash build up in the back of the house and in the alley,” Officer Barton said. “I would also like to note that due to the large amount of trash scattered in the rear of the property, Officers observed several rats both on the porch as well as in the alley.”
At this point, Animal Control Officer Rachel Taylor was called to the scene as well.
“Officers then went around to the outside of the porch of Apartment 2 to gain a better view of the dog which is when we were able to determine the object around the dog’s snout was a muzzle,” Officer Barton said. “At this time and from the low angle from which we were standing, officers were unable to get a better view of the rash on the dog’s back.”
The responding officers then went to Apartment 1 and knocked on the door and were met with a man whose name was redacted from the report.
“[The man] asked what we were doing knocking on his door and when the situation was explained to him, he stated that dog was not his but a friend’s, and that the friend went to the store for some errands about an hour ago and would be back in 10 minutes,” Officer Barton said.
When Officer Barton told the man that his friend needed to get back to the apartment as soon as possible, he called the dog’s owner on the phone.
“While waiting for the dog’s owner to return, [the man] kept asking a variance of questions such as ‘All this for a dog?’ ‘This is crazy, it’s just a dog man,’” Officer Barton said. “I would like to note [that the man] continued making comments of this nature throughout the duration that Somerville Police were on scene.”
At that moment, Officer Bork was on the phone with Animal Control Officer Taylor, who was en route to the scene. After Officer Bork described the dog’s condition, Officer Taylor deemed the situation urgent and decided there were exigent circumstances to retrieve the dog, according to Officer Barton.
“Officers then walked through the house to the back porch, where we observed the dog up close,” Officer Barton said. “The German Shepherd was tied by a leash to a wooden post on the back porch with the muzzle around its snout. It was determined that the red/pink rash on the dog’s back was a visual illusion cast by a small tinted light. While on the back porch, officers noticed the dog’s nails were overgrown and that it was walking with a limp in its rear legs, as if they were injured.”
The officers then brought the dog to the front of the house to wait for its owner.
“The owner then arrived and was identified as Gary Jones,” Officer Barton said. “Jones stated that he had just moved into the apartment today with his dog Sam and was in a rush to go to work at Home Depot for his 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. shift, so he muzzled his dog since it was an unfamiliar location for her before leaving for work.”
According to police Gary Jones, 45, is a resident of 103 Gilman Street, Apt. 1, in Somerville.
Jones explained that he arrived late for work at Home Depot, around 7 p.m., because he was taking care of Sam.
Police later determined that Sam had been tied up outside and muzzled for approximately four and a half hours, from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
“I would like to note that the weather conditions for the 02145 zip code area were an average of 74 degrees with a humidity of 52% from the time of 5:54 p.m. to 10:54 p.m.,” Officer Barton said. “I would also like to note that Sam’s muzzle prevented her from panting or drinking water, as evidenced by the full bowl of water on the back porch and behavior at the kennel in a video provided by Animal Control Officer Taylor of Sam drinking water and eating food rapidly roughly 30 minutes after Animal Control’s arrival.”
Police confiscated the muzzle because its weathered and worn appearance suggested frequent use, Officer Barton said.
“Animal Control Officer Taylor confirmed that Jones was in possession of proof of ownership and medical bills for up-to-date care on Sam, including the most recent visit to the vet to be on 5/30/24,” Officer Barton said. “Based on the factors previously mentioned as well as Sam’s thin appearance, it was Animal Control Officer Taylor’s professional opinion that Sam was abused/neglected.”
Jones was arrested and transported to Somerville Police Headquarters where he was booked on the following charges:
- Animal, Cruelty to by Custodian
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