Redmond man accused of fatally beating roommate’s dog

(Update: Sgt.’s Vander Kamp’s statement on arrest by citation in lieu of custody)

A 39-year-old Redmond man has been arrested on charges he fatally beat his roommate’s dog in the front yard of the house they shared, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Friday.

Deputies responded shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday after callers to 911 dispatchers reported a man beating a dog in front of a house in the 500 block of Northeast Yucca Avenue, Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp said.

Witnesses said they saw the man, later identified as Jeffrey Edward Taylor, injuring the dog with his hands and feet, Vander Kamp said in a news release.

A passing citizen tried to intervene, but was threatened by Taylor, the sergeant said. Moments later, an Oregon State Police trooper arrived and was able to stop the attack, which was still in progress.

Deputies soon arrived and quickly began providing first aid to the dog, a 17-year-old Australian shepherd named Ashton, preparing him for transport to a nearby emergency animal hospital. However, Vander Kamp said the dog died at the scene.

The dog was owned by Taylor’s roommate, who was not home at the time of the attack.

“DCSO deputies are still investigating the motive behind the attack,” Vander Kamp wrote in a news release.

The investigation led to the arrest of Taylor on a charge of first-degree animal abuse. The sergeant said Taylor was taken to St. Charles Bend for evaluation and released to hospital staff, with a citation in lieu of custody.

Vander Kamp later put out this additional statement:

“Our office has received calls from the public requesting information about why Mr. Taylor was not lodged in the Deschutes County Jail and issued a citation in lieu of custody. Instead of a “physical arrest,”, the citation in lieu of custody releases the person on the promise to appear in court at a specified date and time.

“Due to privacy laws, I am unable to specify the reason a citation-in-lieu was used in this particular case. However, citations in lieu of custody are often used when people are charged with certain misdemeanor or felony offenses, are too unhealthy or ill for jail, they require emergent medical or mental health care at a hospital or several other unusual circumstances.

“However, a citation in lieu of custody is still an ‘arrest’ and does not discount the seriousness of the alleged crimes,” he concluded.