Chicago, IL: Man charged with strangling his mother's puppy

April 1, 2010
SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE
A man is accused of beating and strangling his mother’s puppy Wednesday afternoon at their Southwest Side Chicago Lawn neighborhood home following an argument, police said.

Tiewian Johnson, 37, of the 6300 block of South California Avenue, is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and simple assault after the incident Wednesday left a 3-month-old Shih Tzu puppy dead, according to a police release.

Tiewian Johnson is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and simple assault after an incident Wednesday left a 3-month-old Shih Tzu puppy dead.


He was scheduled to appear in bond court Thursday.
Johnson was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly threatening his mother, while the cruelty charge is a felony, police said.

Police responded to the home about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday and found the dog dead in the front yard. Johnson allegedly admitted to strangling it, the release said.

The dog’s death was apparently the result of an argument Johnson had with his mother because he had kicked his sister and her two small children out of the house while the mother was at work, according to a police report.

The mother was not home when Johnson allegedly killed the dog, but when she walked into the apartment he allegedly lunged at her and shouted, “I’m going to get you too b----, I killed your f------ dog,’’ the report said. Police said that threatening statement resulted in the assault charge.

Witnesses intervened and a fistfight ensued. The mother called 911 and Johnson was taken to Holy Cross Hospital for treatment of unidentified wounds he suffered during the fight with the witnesses.

Officers went to the hospital and placed Johnson under arrest.

The city Department of Animal Care & Control took the dog for an examination and found it had been strangled and beaten on the head, the report said.