Hearing set for landlord who killed his tenant’s dog

Hearing set for landlord who killed his tenant’s dog

NILES – A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22 in municipal court for a landlord who was drunk when he killed a tenant’s dog.

Mark C. Trombitas, 44, of Hamilton Avenue, Poland, is free on a $1,000 bond after pleading innocent to a misdemeanor charge of killing or injuring an animal.

Police were called about 7 p.m. Monday to the apartment of Durrell Richardson at 2324 Robbins Ave. There they found the bloodied dog, a pit bull/boxer mix, dead in a breezeway. The dog was the pet of Richardson’s roommate.

Trombitas, who police reported as being intoxicated, told them the dog had attacked him and that he was forced to kill the animal. Near the dog, police found a bloodied knife and hammer. Trombitas did not suffer any injuries as a result of the alleged attack, police said.

Blood was on his hands, jeans and boots, police observed.

Police also found two notes from Trombitas in which he had written about the dog’s surroundings and its feces.