On Wednesday, the animal cruelty charges against Dennis L. Phalen, 68, were dropped.
According to The Lima News, prosecutors claim that their "case fell apart," and the Lima City, Ohio, Prosecutor's Office stated:
“There was no significant admissible evidence available to indicate the event happened as originally alleged, and there is no justification in proceeding with this case at this time,”
Prosecutors blame a lack of cooperation from witnesses and the inability to prove that the dog was not hit by a car, on the dissolution of their case.
Phalen was accused of beating a schnauzer mix, to death, with his fists after a fight with his wife last November.
Following the alleged beating, Phalen's wife rushed her dog to the Allen County Humane Society where he was examined by Alicia Phillips, the operations manager.
Based on that exam, Phillips stated:
“The front of the face that I could see was severely swollen beyond recognition and the side that it was laying on, when I moved the dog, the entire other side of the face was clearly shattered and smashed,”
“As far as body injuries, I couldn’t really tell. I could see swelling, but I made the assumption that it was pretty broken up. I couldn’t tell you exactly what kind of dog it was to begin with. The swelling on the one side was severe. The snout was swollen, the teeth and eyes were bloody, but the other side of the face, the bones looked like they were definitely shattered.”
If Phalen had been found guilty, he could have been sentenced up to six months in jail.
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