Dog deaths lead to felony animal abuse charges | Nashville City Paper: Nashville's Online Source for Daily News
Dog deaths lead to felony animal abuse charges
Friday, April 2, 2010 at 1:15pm
Robert Antonio Steger called the cops this week to report that someone had killed three of his dogs. Once they got a look at the crime scene, Metro Police decided Steger himself was responsible for the animals' deaths.
Steger, 47, of 3188 Gwynnwood Drive in the Whites Creek area, faces two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, a Class E felony punishable by up to six years in prison, as well as two misdemeanor animal cruelty charges.
A police report said that from observing two of the corpses, "it was obvious" that the animals died of
starvation. The third appeared to have succumbed to disease, while the living dogs in the yard were "dirty, unkempt and did not appear to have been taken care of."Steger is said to have told police he had never taken any of his dogs to a veterinarian. Metro Animal Control took custody of the six surviving dogs, telling police that at least two appeared emaciated.
Steger was released on $3,000 bond and is set to appear before Criminal Court Judge William Higgins on April 20.
Four days before the discovery of the dogs on Monday, Steger was charged with possession of a gambling device.
When he filed for bankruptcy in July 2009, Steger listed one cat and ten dogs among his possessions. He stated that he worked for the Metro Transit Authority as a fuelman.
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