LENOIR COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – An Eastern Carolina sheriff is crediting the community with helping his office bring charges surrounding a viral video showing dog abuse.
Early this morning, deputies arrested Matthew Neal on felony animal abuse charges after a disturbing video appeared on social media. Sheriff Jackie Rogers said in a news conference earlier today that Neal has since made bond.
Deputies say Neal is the owner of East Carolina Retriever, a Lenoir County dog training business.
11 dogs were seized following Neal’s arrest this morning at his home and business on Ash Davis Road, just outside of Pink Hill.
Watch the enitre press conference here:
It was Tuesday night that the sheriff appealed to anyone in the community with firsthand knowledge of abuse to come forward as well as anyone with videos, photos, or eyewitness accounts. Rogers says that videos provided were crucial to the investigation.
Sheriff Rogers says that Neal has been on their radar before this current investigation. Rogers says about eight months ago a complaint surrounding what he says was a different disturbing video came in and was investigated an arrest was made. Rogers says it was later dismissed by the district attorney’s office.
Animal control says that the conditions of the dogs that were found are still currently under investigation. Warrants obtained by WITN give graphic details of abuse including that Neal used a shock collar on “Maggie” a yellow lab type dog “until her eyes were bloodshot.”
Lead investigator, Christy Smith said the abuse seems to have been going on for years, even as far back as 2020. She says more interviews could come in that go back even further.
Smith says that due to investigation purposes, additional videos of alleged abuse they obtained will not be shared until a later date.
Deputies say they were helped during the investigation by the Lenoir County Animal Control unit, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office’s Animal Control unit, and Duplin County Animal Control.
“We are truly appreciative of the assistance we received from the other agencies,” Sheriff Rogers said. “We would also like to thank the citizens and the incredible residents who have come forward and made statements to make today’s arrest possible.” Rogers was asked what is next for Neal’s business to which the sheriff said that hopefully it isn’t one.
WITN asked Sheriff Rogers if this case was handled differently due to the public outcry surrounding it, to which he replied “We approach everything the same way. We will work just as hard as somebody committing a larceny as they do animal cruelty.”
Neal was given a $45,000 secured bond in Lenoir County and a $2,000 secured bond in Duplin County.
Rogers says that Neal was cooperative in the investigation.
The sheriff says the dogs that were seized are not currently up for adoption.
Copyright 2024 WITN. All rights reserved.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
