Two people face charges in connection with a dog that was abandoned on a rainy day in April after one of the suspects allegedly admitted that he tied the animal to a gas line behind a former WalMart building.
One of the suspects, Cord Moore, 29, faces charges of cruelty to animals, giving a false statement and obstructing an animal control officer, according to the Bristol Police Department. He was arrested last week and released on a $5,000 non-surety bond.
The charges stem from an investigation that began on April 11 when a brown and white Pit Bull named Cocoa was found tied to a gas line in the rain behind the former Walmart Neighborhood Market at 325 Oakland St., Bristol, according to the warrant affidavit. The dog was cold and wet and was taken in by Bristol Animal Control.
On April 19, animal control received a call from Moore who said he knew who abandoned the dog, the warrant affidavit said. He implicated 39-year-old Sheena Betsey of Bristol, who he identified as the owner of the animal, and said she had asked him to get rid of the animal, police wrote in the warrant.
Moore told investigators that he was uncomfortable ditching the dog but admitted that he was with Betsey when she allegedly abandoned the animal, the warrant affidavit said.
When an investigator confronted Betsey with the information she acknowledged that the dog was hers but said she had given it to a family member who lives in New York, according to the warrant affidavit. An animal control officer tried calling the family member and spoke to a woman who said she had not spoken to Betsey and did not have her dog.
Police later obtained a warrant for Betsey’s arrest and she was charged on Sept. 5. She faces charges of cruelty to animals, failure to comply with dog ownership requirements and not having an animal vaccinated for rabies.
Betsey’s case remains pending in New Britain Superior Court. She is free on $5,000 bond.
According to the warrant affidavit, Moore implicated himself when he called animal control on July 22 and said he lied about Betsey ditching the dog. He told an investigator he made up the allegation about her because he was “frustrated,” the warrant affidavit said.
The animal control officer who spoke with Moore noted in the warrant that he could reportedly hear a woman in the background, who he believed was Betsey, coaching Moore on what to say, the warrant affidavit said. Moore later gave a written statement to police admitting that he was the one who abandoned the animal, investigators wrote.