AZ man who allegedly killed neighbor’s dog speaks
While charges of animal cruelty are recommended by Peoria Police against Kenneth McGaughey, he remains a free man as of April 23. FOX 10’s Brian Webb spoke with McGaughey, who said he didn’t want to kill the dog.
PEORIA, Ariz. – (WARNING: This story contains subject matter and material that some may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.)
PEORIA, Ariz. – On April 21, we reported on a West Valley family left in shock after their neighbor was caught beating their chihuahua dog to death on camera.
“When we woke up this morning, you just felt the sadness,” said Brianna Camacho.
On Wednesday, April 23, we spoke with the person who is accused of beating the dog.
Video captures alleged crime
The backstory:
In our previous report on the incident, the dog, known to the family as Chiquilin, somehow got out on the afternoon of April 18.
Later on, the family got a call from a neighbor who said another neighbor was seen on camera beating Chiquilin with a shovel, and tossing his body over a wall.
“She was like, ‘yeah, he just threw him over the fence’ and when we walked, I told him and I was still on the phone with her and we ran outside and the next thing you know is when we’re running over there, my dog’s just laying on the floor,” said Brianna.
Chiqui’s injuries were so serious that the family had to say goodbye Friday night.
“Chiquilin was a good dog. He was a very good dog. He, he was the sweetest,” said Brianna.
No immediate arrests were made in the case, because Peoria Police didn’t have access to a video that showed the incident during their initial investigation.
After seeing the video, however, police are now recommending felony charges of animal cruelty against Kenneth McGaughey.
We asked Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell on whether she has seen the video, and she said she has not seen it, but the video was described to her in detail.
“I didn’t wanna kill [the dog],” the suspect said
We spoke with McGaughey on April 23. At the time we spoke with McGaughey, he was still a free man.
What McGaughey Said:
During our conversation with McGaughey, he insisted he was simply protecting his own pet, on his own property.
“Why did you do it?” we asked McGaughey.
“He came in my yard and attacked my cat. I don’t know how it came in, in the back,” McGaughey replied.
“It’s a little Chihuahua, though. Is it that much of a threat to beat him to death?”
“He had the cat in his mouth. I didn’t wanna see him hold the cat. I just wanna throw them out the gate. That’s all I wanted to do,” McGaughey replied. “I didn’t wanna kill him, but [expletive] happens.”
McGaughey said he believes he did nothing wrong, and if he has to be arrested, so be it.
“If they wanna arrest me, it’s in my property. I’ll be arrested,” said McGaughey.
Once again, we should note that as of April 23, McGaughey is still a free man.
The other side:
Brianna, however, said on April 23 that she does not believe McGaughey’s story, and can’t believe he has yet to be arrested.
“I wanna see him get arrested, get what’s coming to him because it was just not OK,” said Brianna. “A dog that weighs less than five pounds gets beaten to death by a man who currently, you can see he has rage from I don’t know what.”
What’s next:
County Attorney Mitchell talked about the steps that will be taken in deciding whether or not to charge a person with a crime.
“In cases like that, we review the police report, and we can make determinations and changes from there,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Then, our office will decide whether he is arrested or is asked to surrender.”
In Arizona, a person found guilty of animal cruelty could face a few months to more than 2 years behind bars.
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