- Massachusetts, USA -
The Great Barrington Police Department arrested 34-year-old SAMUEL R. DEMELLO, a third-grade teacher at Berkshire Waldorf School, after he was witnessed beating, choking, punching, and throwing his defenseless dogs.
According to the criminal complaint obtained by Voice For Us, on February 10, 2025, an officer with the Great Barrington Police Department was dispatched to a residence on Castle Street for a report of animal abuse.
Upon arrival, the officer was met by two women whom I will refer to as W1 and W2.
W1 told the officer that from the front windows of Mason Library, she saw a male, later identified as DEMELLO, throwing a dog violently to the ground and choking the dog. She added that she could hear the poor soul screaming in pain.
W1 then followed DEMELLO from the library all the way to Castle Street. She told the officer that for the duration of the whole journey she saw DEMELLO dragging the dog, violently beating the dog, and strangling the dog. Once on Castle Street, DEMELLO picked up the dog and threw him in a vehicle. W1 approached DEMELLO, talked to him “trying to have him give up the dog to her”, stated the complaint.
W1 explained to the officer that her attempt to get the dog was unsuccessful and she started to feel unsafe and began to fear for the dog’s safety.
W1 then knocked on a few houses but no one answered until she arrived at W2’s home and told her what was happening. W2 then alerted the police.
W1 told the officer that she did not have a phone and could not record what she saw nor call the police.
W2 told the officer she knew DEMELLO and added he was her neighbor. W2 went on to say that she had seen him abuse his dog in the past.
The officer obtained DEMELLO’s identity and in the meantime, another officer arrived on the scene. They ran a query on the license plate and the name of SAMUEL R. DEMELLO came up. It turned out that DEMELLO was connected to three “animal calls”, according to the complaint.
The officers then returned to W2’s home, and she showed them a video of October 2024, in which DEMELLO could be seen “screaming at a long haired white dog right in front of her house, throwing the dog to the ground and pulling him up the street.”
The following day, when W2 went to the Great Barrington Police Department to give her statement, she was able to show more videos about DEMELLO being abusive toward his dogs.
According to the complaint, in one video, DEMELLO could be seen dragging one of the dogs by the collar in his backyard. The dog was understandably yelping and crying. At one point DEMELLO stopped and punched the dog twice.
In the video, W2 could be heard saying: “the dog is crying , he's pulling on his neck, he pulled on her neck and smashed him in the face, I think he's holding her mouth so he can't make noise.”
DEMELLO then held the dog down and struck him/her three more times.
W2 was also able to provide the officer with names of other neighbors who had witnessed the incident.
On February 11, 2025, DEMELLO was placed under arrest and was charged with two felony counts of animal cruelty. He told the officers his dogs were safe and that he gave them to his parents in East Hampton.
While DEMELLO was being booked, one of the officers spoke with one of his parents and they confirmed the dogs were with them.
DEMELLO told the officers “he needs mental help and that he has been hurting himself.”
In view of this, DEMELLO was transported to Berkshire Medical Center.
His arraignment is slated to take place at Southern Berkshire District Court on February 18, 2025, at 8:30 a.m.
I have reached out to Berkshire Waldorf School to find out whether DEMELLO was still employed and at the time of writing, I have not received a response.
I apologize for not having a clear mugshot of DEMELLO. The photo I am using was attached to the criminal complaint.
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Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from the criminal complaint provided to Voice For Us. 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.
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