PA: East Stroudsburg man faces eight counts of animal cruelty

By Andrew Scott
Pocono Record Writer
August 01, 2013

An East Stroudsburg man faces eight counts of animal cruelty after his now-9-month-old pit bull terrier was found with 29 bone fractures throughout her body.

Lamont Anthony Scott, 26, will appear at a future preliminary hearing before East Stroudsburg Magisterial District Judge Michael Muth.

Free on unsecured bail as of Tuesday, Scott faces four first-degree misdemeanor and four summary (citation) counts of animal cruelty.

Scott's hearing originally had been scheduled for Tuesday, but had to be continued when it was learned the Monroe County Public Defender's Office cannot represent him due to conflicting interests, said Officer Elizabeth Anderson with the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Alleged abuse

Anderson's affidavit gives the following account:

Anderson got a call June 1 about Lexi, a tan and white pit bull terrier, limping and underweight with lacerations to her face.

The caller, a neighbor, had heard Lexi yelping at night in Scott's Henry Street home and thought her owner was beating her. The caller said the owner had claimed Lexi had been hit by a car and that he had accidentally stepped on her paw.

Anderson arrived June 3 at Scott's home and met with his tenant, Stephanie Veley, who identified Lexi's owner as "Monte" Scott and said he wasn't home at the time. Veley gave Anderson permission to go into the backyard and look at Lexi.

The dog had to struggle to stand on all fours before lying back down again and her right hind leg appeared broken. There were scars and lacerations on her face and under her chin, plus a large lump under her jaw.

Veley had been renting from Scott for the past two weeks and said Lexi had been in this condition during that entire time period.

Anderson posted a notice with her office phone number on Scott's front door, telling him to get Lexi veterinary care by noon the next day.

More than an hour after posting the notice, Anderson got a call from Scott, who said Lexi had gotten loose, been hit by a car near Dansbury Park in East Stroudsburg and brought to the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe shelter in Stroud Township about two weeks prior.

Not his dog

He said Lexi belonged to his brother, who had moved out a few days prior, but had not returned to pick up Lexi. Scott said he himself had gone to the AWSOM shelter on his brother's behalf and brought Lexi back home.

Anderson told Scott that he, as temporary caretaker, was legally responsible for Lexi's welfare and any veterinary care needed immediately or otherwise.

Scott said he shouldn't have to pay for vet care since Lexi is his brother's and because he could not afford vet care with his wife being eight months pregnant at the time.

He said pets aren't allowed in the house, which is why Lexi was kept in the backyard, and that he was working in Ohio and had no time to take her to a vet, according to court records.

Scott identified his brother as "Dominick," but didn't give a last name or any way to reach him. Anderson told Scott to have his brother contact her.

At 5:03 p.m., a man identifying himself as "Dominick Pemberton" called Anderson. The caller said Lexi had been picked up at the "SPCA" after being hit by a car and had stopped eating two weeks prior.

He said he lived in New Jersey, had owned Lexi for eight to nine months, was having financial issues and needed to transfer ownership of her to the SPCA.

Receiving care

Anderson picked Lexi up that night and immediately took her to Dr. Karin-Susan Breitlauch's staff at Creature Comforts Veterinary Care in Saylorsburg for an examination, X-rays and pain medication.

Creature Comforts staff over the next six weeks found 29 bone fractures to Lexi's elbow, ribs, pelvis, hip, leg, jaw, toes and other areas.

Anderson contacted the AWSOM shelter June 4. Shelter records indicate Scott had brought Lexi there May 22 and that she was limping, but mention only Scott and no "Dominick Pemberton."

Anderson then contacted Banfield Veterinary Hospital, listed in shelter records as Scott's vet, and learned he had brought Lexi to Banfield only once, on May 22, for vaccines.

Anderson then contacted an AWSOM representative, who had noticed bones sticking out of Lexi's hind leg. The representative in a subsequent written statement said Scott had claimed Lexi's leg had been treated at Banfield and that he would take her back there, though Banfield records indicate no such treatment.

Anderson on June 11 interviewed the original caller and another neighbor who had heard Lexi scream on multiple nights during the past few months.

Anderson on June 14 again interviewed Veley, who said Scott had "full out punched" Lexi in the face on one occasion and thrown the dog down uncarpeted steps onto a cement basement floor on two other occasions.

Veley said Lexi cried out both times.

Anderson said Lexi is now in protective custody and has undergone two surgeries and been placed on morphine, antibiotics and other medications.

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