DUSTIN LEE MITCHELL accused of squirting lighter fluid on his dog before kicking a lit grill on him
- voiceforus
- Apr 26, 2022
- 3 min read
- Indiana, USA -
On Tuesday, March 15, Indianapolis Animal Care Services received a report about a dog trapped in the bathroom in the back of a vacant building on 359 N. Lynhurst Drive.
The former auto detailing shop had recently been purchased and the new owners were doing an inspection of the property. While some of the doors and windows appeared secured, a corner bathroom that opened to the exterior had no lock and that’s where the furbaby was found.
Lieutenant William Carter with IMPD said: “When they were on the property, they heard something in the bathroom. When they opened the door, they found the dog inside.”
A responding officer found a brown Pitbull drinking from a bucket with burns over his face, paws and sides.
The furbaby was immediately taken to Indianapolis Animal Care Services where he was put on medication and medical staff began treatment for his injuries. Sadly, the following day the Pitbull died from his injuries.
Lieutenant Carter said: “The pads on his feet were completely burned off. His face was burned; he had some burns on the left side of the body.”
“This dog obviously suffered for a long time after it was burned. Even the treatment for a burn on an animal is very painful”, he added.
After IMPD posted information and photos of the VOICELESS VICTIM on social media, Crime Stoppers received multiple tips identifying 38-years-old DUSTIN LEE MITCHELL (pictured) as the dog’s guardian.
On Monday, March 21, investigators located MITCHELL in a camper just west of the building where the dog was found and questioned him about the furbaby.
When he was asked whether he had a dog, he replied he did and claimed the dog had run away.
The investigator then showed MITCHELL two pictures of the furbaby covered in burns and MITCHELL said he looked like his 7-year-old dog named Thunder.
MITCHELL went on to say that after Thunder ran away, he looked for him for two days but could not find him.
Detectives told MITCHELL that the Pitbull had been burned and later died.
FOX 19 reports that according to the affidavit, MITCHELL became very emotional and started crying. He then told detectives that he loved his dog but could not control him from biting him.
During a formal statement, MITCHELL said that Thunder had bitten his hand while they were inside the trailer so MITCHELL kicked Thunder outside, grabbed a bottle of charcoal lighter fluid, squirted it on the furbaby, and kicked a small grill that was already lit onto the dog, igniting Thunder.
MITCHELL then proceeded to put Thunder inside a crate and threw water on him to put the fire out.
MITCHELL further stated that he opened the crate and Thunder ran away. MITCHELL denied ever putting Thunder in the bathroom at the vacant building.
MITCHELL was placed under arrest on one count of torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal, a level 6 felony, and one count of cruelty to an animal.
He was released on April 1.
According to online court records MITCHELL has a pretrial conference scheduled for Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at 9:00 a.m.
Ryan Wilson Mears and Norman Elkhana Cooke are listed as MITCHELL’s attorneys.
Thunder will not be in court to testify the abuse and the suffering he senselessly and cruelly experienced!
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Nope…I will never understand the inhumanity & cruelty of human scum! Yes, I realize he’s a bully, a coward, a waste of oxygen, who must serve time in prison & have his crimes publicized! But will he? So many just get slapped with a fine & released. Judges must take this cruelty seriously. He is not worthy of any forgiveness. RIP THUNDER, YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL SOUL, who will suffer no more.