Chicago Man Accused Of Killing Dog Because It Tore His $4 Shirt
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A South Austin neighborhood man admitted he killed a pit bull because it ripped his $3.78 shirt, according to police reports.
Damien Wilkerson, 34, of the 700 block of North Pine, was arrested Saturday and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals. Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil ordered him held Sunday in lieu of $80,000 bail.
Prosecutors said Wilkerson beat the animal with sticks and rocks and stabbed it, then stuffed it in a trash bin.
"The dog tore my shirt," Wilkerson allegedly told police. "This s - - - was $3.78."
The officers who arrested Wilkerson at his home said they found the dead dog in an alley trash can. As they approached Wilkerson, they said, they heard him say, "Yeah, I killed that f - - - - - - dog."
But when Wilkerson saw the officers, he fled into his house — only to return and complain about his damaged clothing, police said.
"There were two dogs," Wilkerson later told the officers, according to police reports. "One was a puppy who ran away, and the other dog, yeah, I killed him."
Witnesses told police that Wilkerson became enraged after one of those dogs tore his shirt. Wilkerson told police he hopped over a fence and began to beat the dogs with a milk crate.
"I ain't gonna let no dogs or no n - - - - - punk me," Wilkerson allegedly said.
Wilkerson, a self-admitted Cicero Insane Vice Lord, told police one of the dogs went for his throat during the beating, so he "choked the dog out."
In an unrelated case, Judge Kuriakos Ciesil ordered a second South Austin man, 19-year-old Adontis Hoskins, 19, of the 4900 block of West Gladys, held in lieu of $20,000 bail Sunday. He's facing a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.
Police said they saw Hoskins riding a bicycle while holding a leash attached to a baby pit bull named "Fox." Police said the pit bull was wearing a metal collar with three large padlocks attached.
The officers said that's a known method to strengthen a dog's neck for dogfighting.
