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William Williams arraigned on charge he beat dog to death with bricks
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A man police accuse of beating a dog to death with two bricks last week also served four years in prison for a 2005 murder.
William Williams, 32, was arraigned Friday before Municipal Judge Elizabeth Kobly, hours after he turned himself in at the Mahoning County jail on misdemeanor warrants of animal cruelty and domestic violence.
Judge Kobly set Williams’ bond at $10,000. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.
He is accused of pummeling a 4-year-old Maltese named “Gabby” to death with the bricks in a backyard in the 100 block of Lauderdale Avenue on the South Side about 12:40 p.m. April 3. A Maltese is a small, toy-dog breed.
The dog had injuries to its trunk and head and was hit in the head with the bricks at least three times, said humane agent Chris Flak of Animal Charity of Mahoning County, who helped police investigate.
Flak said the case is one of the worst he has seen.
“I’ve never seen a dog bludgeoned like this before,” Flak said.
A police report said Williams was arguing with a 25-year-old woman who is the mother of his child, and that Williams was upset she wanted to leave and take their child with her.
He pulled on the woman and scratched her arms, wrist and face and then began beating the dog with the bricks, reports said.
Williams ran away before police could get there, but officers found the dog behind a garage, reports said.
Flak said an examination after the dog died showed that it had three breaks in its hip as well as a skull fracture.
“The actual nature of how this dog was killed is very violent,” Flak said.
Court records show that Williams has been arrested before for drug, burglary and weapons violations. In 2005, he and another man were charged with the murder of 39-year-old Anthony McBride on May 7, 2005. McBride, who police said was homeless, was found shot to death on a sidewalk on Martin Luther King Boulevard. Police said the murder was retaliation for a burglary in the Westlake Terrace public housing project.
Williams pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless homicide and was sentenced to four years in prison in May 2006, according to court documents. The reduced charge was offered because prosecutors and police could find no witnesses to McBride’s murder.