VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — According to Franklin Police, a Meadville man has been accused of cruelty to animals and related charges stemming from an incident that occurred on 12th Street, in the City of Franklin, Venango County.
According to court documents, Franklin Police Department filed criminal charges against 40-year-old Joseph Padilla-Vargas, of Meadville.
On October 5, landlords contacted the Franklin Police Department to report a dead canine at a residence on 12th Street.
Franklin Police responded to the dwelling and discovered that Joseph Padilla-Vargus owned an unregistered dog and “locked it in a small bathroom at his residence without food or water.”
Police say “the dog was not released from the bathroom and died in the bathroom several weeks later. He then left the corpse of the canine in the bathroom, and it decayed into the bathroom floor.”
Court documents indicate on October 17, a criminal complaint was filed against Padilla-Vargas in Magisterial District Judge Matthew T. Kirtland’s office.
He faces the following charges:
- Cruelty To Animals, Misdemeanor 1
- Cruelty to Animals
- Failure to License A Dog Over 3 Months of Age
- Abandon Any Dog Within Commonwealth
- Vaccination against Rabies Required — 4 to 12 weeks old
A date has not yet been set for a preliminary hearing.
For more Venango County news, visit https://explorevenango.com/.
