Man arrested after aggravated cruelty to dog captured by doorbell camera

Joshua Darnell Williams

By Joe Johnson

An Athens man is behind bars today because his extreme cruelty to a dog was recorded by a neighbor’s doorbell camera.

The incident happened outside of an apartment on West Broad Street where 35-year-old Jeremiah Williams lives.

The doorbell camera footage shows Williams following the dog up a flight of stairs and then grabbing it up by the scruff of its neck and throwing it into the staircase railing.

He is heard on the video saying, “Why are you peeing on the porch” and then seen carrying the animal to the bottom of the stairs and tossing it onto the concrete.

The county Animal Services Department was notified of the abuse and provided with the doorbell camera footage which provided sufficient cause for them to seize the dog named Hazel.

The dog was then taken to an animal hospital for examination. Police said an X-ray showed that the dog was suffering from a subdural hematoma that can cause painful swelling of the brain.

Furthermore, Hazel was observed exhibiting such behaviors of having been abused as cowering and submissive urinating.

Police subsequently obtained an arrest warrant charging Williams with aggravated cruelty to animals, and when officers went to his apartment they found Williams hiding in a closet.

While in the home, the officers found evidence that resulted in the additional charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Williams is being held without bail at the county jail, where law enforcement agencies in Alabama, Missouri and Illinois placed holds on his release because of warrants they had for his arrest.