A Columbia man faces a felony charge of animal cruelty after he shot and injured a dog in Beaufort, according to authorities.
On Tuesday, the Beaufort Police Department charged Anthony Lawton, 35, of Columbia with one count of ill-treatment of animals in general, torture, according to a police report and court records.
A Beaufort Police report says Lawton shot the dog on Nov. 4, two days after the dog had bitten him. The Bull mastiff belongs to his father’s girlfriend in Beaufort.
The charge was elevated to a felony because Lawton left the dog injured and did not try to get it medical attention, according to the report. It was shot in its hind leg.
Police arrested Lawton on a warrant for animal cruelty when responding to a call Tuesday that he was highly intoxicated on Abbey Lane.
Jail records show he was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center around 9 p.m. and was released on Thursday around 2:30 p.m.
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This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 3:30 PM.
Jake Shore is a senior writer covering breaking news for The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. He reports on criminal justice, police, and the courts system in Beaufort and Jasper Counties. Jake originally comes from sunny California and attended school at Fordham University in New York City. In 2020, Jake won a first place award for beat reporting on the police from the South Carolina Press Association.
