JIMMY ROBERT WIGGINS JR arrested for killing a puppy with a hammer in a house with children present

- Ohio, USA -

The Erie County Sheriff’s Office arrested 45-year-old JIMMY ROBERT WIGGINS JR (pictured).

Deputies responded to a trailer home on Alpine Trail in Milan Township after receiving a 911 call made by a teenage girl reporting that her mother’s boyfriend had beaten their puppy to death.

Responding deputies were met by the two children living at the home, including the girl who made the call whom deputies said was “extremely distraught.” Deputies learned that WIGGINS had threatened to choke their puppy and he then proceeded to kill the puppy with a hammer. The children told deputies they heard the puppy screaming. Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth tells me the puppy was an approximately 6-week-old black and white Pitbull named Hank.

When deputies arrived, WIGGINS had fled the scene like a true coward who kills a defenseless puppy but then does not face law enforcement.

The children’s mother, 42-year-old GRETCHEN LYNN HOWARD (also pictured), initially refused to let deputies enter the home but later agreed. Deputies reported that the home was in “deplorable” condition with drugs in plain sight. Inside the bathroom, deputies found a hammer covered in blood but they did not find Hank.

Inside the home, deputies also found a live Pitbull puppy named Mud whom they removed and is thankfully in a loving home.

Deputies used a drone to locate WIGGINS. He had run to a river behind the home and was found in the river hanging from a tree branch.

Deputies arrested WIGGINS and HOWARD and charged them with endangering children and obstructing official business. WIGGINS was also charged with cruelty to animals and other crimes.

The children are in the custody of Child Protective Services.

On a separate note, jail records show that WIGGINS also has an outstanding hold from Escambia County, Florida.

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Voice For Us Disclaimer: Please note that details may be removed or new information added should updates become available.

In the case of charges being dropped, dismissed, or the case being purged, this article will be rectified accordingly, if official documentation is provided to Voice For Us.

WIGGINS’ mugshot was provided to Voice For Us by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office.

HOWARD’s mugshot shared from the Erie County Sheriff’s Office

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