A Richmond Township man is accused of fatally strangling his father’s Labrador Retriever, according to Macomb County authorities.
William Kucharski, Jr., 48, was ordered held on a $150,000 bond after he was arraigned Friday on a charge of third-degree killing/torturing an animal, a four-year felony, according to a release from the prosecutor’s office and online records in 42-1 District Court in Romeo.
The release states Kucharski lives with his father and that Kucharski strangled the fully-grown dog in their home Tuesday.
Kucharski currently is hospitalized and in the custody of the sheriff’s office, according to the prosecutor’s office release. Authorities said in releases that he was arraigned at his hospital bed via Zoom.
No attorney was listed for Kucharski in online court records, though they state he was represented by an unnamed appointed counsel at arraignment. He stood mute and a plea of not guilty was entered by the court, according to the court records.
Sheriff’s deputies were sent to a residence on Prinz Road on a report of dead family pet and possible threat to a family member, according to a sheriff’s office release. The suspect allegedly killed his father’s dog and the caller was concerned for the welfare of the suspect and the suspect’s father.
The sheriff’s office stated the suspect was home alone with the dog. When his father returned home, he found the suspect with his arms around the dog and was unable to remove them, per the sheriff’s office release.
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It states the suspect made threats to harm himself. The suspect was uncooperative with deputies and was taken into custody, the sheriff’s office stated.
Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Jennifer Putney said Friday that the dog’s name was Punky. She did not know his age or how long the suspect’s father had the dog. The caller, she said, was the suspect’s sister.
Putney said there was some verbal negations with the suspect, who was in a bedroom with the door closed. He said he had a weapon, Putney said, but he did not end up having one.
Putney said the dog was beside the suspect when deputies gained entry to the bedroom. The dog was found dead, and a necropsy is being performed, she said. Putney said the suspect told deputies that he killed the dog.
If Kucharski is released on bond, he is to have no contact with animals or witnesses in the case, no alcohol or drugs and no assaulting or threatening behavior and must wear a GPS tether, according to the prosecutor’s office release. A probable cause conference is set for Jan. 28 and a preliminary exam is set for Feb. 4, according to court records.
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The prosecutor’s office stated Kucharski also is charged in Lapeer County with second-degree arson, assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting and obstructing a police officer and that an arraignment on those charges will be scheduled in that county. Putney did not have details about the Lapeer County case.
“It is alarming to see innocent animals subjected to such cruelty. I urge everyone who believes in harsher consequences for animal abuse and the loss of animal life to contact their state legislature and push for changes in the law that will allow for stricter penalties for these heinous acts,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido stated in his office’s release.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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