Charge filed in abandoned dog case
The Yuma County man arrested last week after sheriff’s deputies discovered that he had left his dog locked in a room alone for days without food or water has been charged with one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.
Bryan Ray Weimer, who is a deputy with the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office, was scheduled to appear in Yuma Justice Court on Tuesday afternoon, but his presence was waved and a pre-trial conference was scheduled for 3 p.m. on Aug. 4.
Weimer was released prior to his initial appearance after posting a $545 bond and his attorney, John Serrano, included a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf in the Notice of Appearance he filed with the court.
According to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a home in the 10600 block of East 34th Place on Thursday for a possible burglary.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered a broken window at the home and made entry to check the residence for any suspects. Once inside, they found a young malnourished female Belgian Malinois locked inside a bedroom.
No food or water was located inside the bedroom, and the flooring was covered in animal feces and urine.
The Malinois was taken to the Humane Society of Yuma for treatment and is expected to survive.
Deputies later identified Weimer as the owner of the Malinois and returned to his home two days later, when he got back to town, and took him into custody.
Paperwork provided to Weimer by the sheriff’s office upon his release indicated that the person reporting the possible break-in was an employee from Safe Guard Properties.
The Safe Guard employee, according to the paperwork, told deputies he was there to inspect the home and change the locks following a foreclosure and heard the dog barking inside what was supposed to be an empty home and reported it.
While it is still unknown at this time, the Safe Guard employee may have been at the wrong house.
Alfonso Zavala, a spokesperson for the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, explained that the broken window provided deputies with probable cause to enter the home.
He added that while he has no information as to whether the company employee was at the right address, it doesn’t change the fact that a crime was committed at the location against the dog, which is the basis of the charge against Weimer.