 |
Bay News 9
Local Programming
On Demand
About
Community
Market Place
Services
5 arrested in animal cruelty case in Tampa
TAMPA (Bay News 9) -- A landlord looking to sell his property in Tampa says he found it in shambles.
Saturday afternoon the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested five people from the house, 3015 73rd St. N., on four counts of animal cruelty charges and 11 counts of improper confinement.
Two infants were reported to be living in the home as well. The Department of Children and Families is now caring for the children.
Neighbor Frederick Sears says he can still smell the stench coming from his neighbors' house. Sears says 11 dogs were living on the property.
The dogs were allegedly living in their own feces and Sears says they were not being properly cared for.
"They were not treating those dogs well -- kicking," Sears said. "They mistreated those dogs a lot."
According to Hillsborough County Animal Services, three of the dogs were malnourished, another had a leg injury that was so severe the leg was swollen twice its size, and a Chihuahua was allegedly infested with parasites.
But Jade Fernandez, a friend of the family, insists the family cared for the animals.
"If they didn't love their animals they wouldn't have so many of them," Fernandez said. "You can see they care about animals; they're just poor."
Investigators say there were no running water and no electricity in the house, and Sears said he watched the family sleep outside a number of times.
Animal services says it has had problems with some of the adults arrested in this cruelty case before. A spokesperson says it involved other animals in a separate incident.
Be in the Know with Bay News 9 Now!
Get news, weather, and traffic alerts delivered directly to your computer desktop, e-mail, or cell phone with Bay News 9 Now.
- Subscribe for free!
More Hillsborough County Stories
- HCSO: 15 of 30 inspected boats had reg. violations
- Man accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting girl
- USF students getting the skinny on storm evacuations
- Firework sales get double whammy with economy, rain
- 'Suspicious bag' scare over at Tampa Int'l. Airport
- Police: Tampa man threatened to kill former boss
- Florida Highway Patrol to ensure safety this July 4
- Charges dropped against ex-commissioner Brian Blair
- One hurt after man throws concrete through bus window
Contact Bay News 9
- Story ideas for our Assignment Desk
- Comments on Bay News 9 or BayNews9.com
- Bay News 9 Now (our news alert system)
- Neighborhood News (tell us about your event)
Select the size text you want to use to view www.baynews9.com from the choices below.
Bay News 9's Partners
 |  |  |  |
Become An Asterisk Hunter!
At Bright House Networks, we prefer to keep things simple.So the next time you're looking for TV, home phone and Internet service with a 30-day, money-back guarantee, but without the fine print surprises, call
1-866-976-EASY.
Learn more at AsteriskHunters.com.
About Bright House Networks