A 38-year-old man was arrested in Texas on Friday after police say he broke into the Abilene/Taylor County Animal Services building and freed “many” of the 150+ dogs inside.
According to a press release from the Albilene Police Department, police were called to the Animal Services building at around 7:00 a.m. Friday morning for the report of a break-in. Officers arrived to find that someone had climbed the fence that surrounds the building, entered into the building through the roof, and opened many of the cages to the canine side of the building, freeing many of the over 150 canines in the shelter.
The release states that officers found one of the canines deceased, and several other canines injured due to what is believed to be fighting amongst the animals. Several other canines are also said to have escaped the property through an outside gate, requiring Animal Shelter crews to attempt to locate them outside of the property grounds.
The suspect also reportedly caused damage to the inside of the building’s office area and other parts of the building including the roof where they entered the building.
A van owned by the shelter was also stolen from the property and later recovered in north Abilene.
Hours after the break-in, Detectives picked up a male matching the description of the possible suspect and brought him in for questioning. Following questioning, 38-year-old George Paul Jones was officially arrested and charged with the break-in, animal cruelty, and theft of a motor vehicle. He is being held at the Taylor County Jail.
