New Bedford police rescued 21 dogs from the home of a man with an “extensive criminal history” this week, who is set to face 39 counts of animal cruelty and drug charges.
On Monday, officers went to 184 Myrtle St. where they were “struck by the pungent odor of urine and feces” and heard multiple dogs barking. Inside the attic, where the temperature was above 100 degrees, police found 12 Cane Corso dogs in cages. Officers also found nine French Bulldogs in the 3rd-floor apartment, some of which were caged and some of which were roaming free, police wrote in a statement.
None of the 21 dogs found inside the home had adequate access to food or water, according to police. Some also had overgrown nails and could not walk normally.
“Conditions in the cages were described as unsanitary,” the statement reads.
When animal control officers arrived, police say the man living in the Myrtle Street apartment, Derrick Ambrose, 35, fled the house. Inside the home, police found more than nine grams of fentanyl and more than 25 grams of crack cocaine, according to the statement. Officers also found Adderall, Oxycodone, mushrooms and marijuana.
Police say Ambrose was in possession of vacuum sealers, packaging materials and digital scales, which are all used in the “processing and packaging of illegal narcotics for street-level sales.”
A warrant has been requested charging Ambrose with animal cruelty and “numerous” drug charges, including trafficking over 18 grams of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute class A, B, C, D and E drugs, police said.
Ambrose’s criminal history includes 67 arraignments as an adult and prior convictions for possession and discharge of a firearm and possession of a dangerous weapon, according to the statement. He has also been convicted of dealing cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana. When he was arrested this week, Ambrose had three open cases in Falmouth District Court and nine open cases in New Bedford District Court, police said.
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