Marcella Corona

mcorona@rgj.com

A man accused of killing and dismembering five dogs in a Reno motel appears to have obtained two of them from a woman trying to find a new home for the pets, according to a police report.

Jason Brown, 24, is accused of five felony counts of willful torture of an animal and one count of possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine. Police arrested him on July 9.

UPDATE: Man accused of dismembering dogs in Reno arraigned

"We recognize that this is a community that cares deeply for our animals," said Bob Harmon, of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. "So this is a hard story for everyone, and it's a difficult investigation, and we're going to continue investigating until this goes to court."

According to the report, Brown was staying at a Super 8 Motel room in south Reno, 5851 South Virginia St., where the dismembered dogs were found at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

He had checked in June 27, paid for the stay up to July 8, and kept staff from cleaning the room throughout his stay, the police report said.

A maid had knocked on the door to check on him days later, but no one answered. She then unlocked the door to clean the room and found bloodstains, dog limbs, drugs and drug paraphernalia, including hypodermic needles.

She then called the manager, who found a decapitated brown dog in the bathtub and called Reno police.

While the manager waited for police to arrive, Brown had returned to the room and then fled, according to the report.

Super 8 Motel in Reno declined to comment on Friday and Sunday.

"We haven't had any cases like this before," said Kevin Schiller, Washoe County Regional Animal Services assistant manager and department head. "This is probably the second major case we've had dealing with animal abuse. They're not that common, at least at this level."

Police and deputies also found four dog heads inside a small refrigerator, along with several bloody knives and scissors.

According to a police report, a Sparks resident said she had given Brown two Chihuahua mixes, Fernell and McGee, because she could no longer take care of them.

They appeared to be among the slain dogs. Collars and rabies tags tracing back to their former owner were found in the room, as were blankets, tennis balls and a dog dish believed to have belonged to the two Chihuahuas, according to the report.

Calls to the former owner Friday were unsuccessful.

Another witness emailed authorities that he'd heard Brown had dog body parts in a Denali and wrote Brown was killing dogs obtained through Craigslist, according to the report. Authorities could not confirm the five dogs' origin Friday.

Facing felony charges

Cooney's Law, passed in Nevada in 2011, means Brown faces felony charges for his first offense, Harmon said.

The law stems from the death of a dog named Cooney in October 2010.

After adopting Cooney, Raymond Rios of Reno had sliced her stomach with a box cutter in a local motel and watched as the dog died from shock and blood loss.

At the time, Rios could only be charged with a misdemeanor.

An animal control officer, Kathleen Denning, worked to propose into legislation Senate Bill 223.

"Under that law, it specified if a person willfully and malicious tortures, mains or mutilates a dog, cat or any pet," Harmon said, "that person can be charged with a felony crime on the first offense."

"We firmly believe, in this case, that we can charge him with felony charges," he said of Brown, who faces five felony charges of willful torture of an animal, along with one count of possession of a controlled substance.

Brown also is accused of another count of possession of a controlled substance in an unrelated case, Harmon said. He has yet to acquire an attorney, according to Washoe County Justice Court.

His current total bail is set at $60,000, which includes the second charge for possession.

A woman who knew Brown's family told police she had several phone conversation with Brown, where he stated that he's had "urges of rage."

According to the police report, Brown had told the woman late last month that he had killed a friend's dog and that killing dogs was "good for now."

Messages left for the woman were unreturned Friday.

Online pet adoptions

Elizabeth Stanton, SPCA operations manager, said she doesn't hear too often of pet owners who put up their companions up for adoption online.

But when she does, she discourages it.

"We always warn people who call us and want to surrender an animal from doing it online at sites like Craigslist," Stanton said. "We always try to take them in."

The SPCA is currently home to 60 dogs and up to 100 cats, Stanton said. When the shelter is full, staff usually turn away unwanted pets.

"I don't think we hear it very often, but on occasion if a person is unwilling to wait, they'll throw a threat," she said referring to owners who say they'll advertise their pets online if the SPCA doesn't take them. "I know they're coming in from desperation, but we'll encourage them to wait or take them to the Nevada Humane Society."

The adoption process for local shelters such as SPCA and the Nevada Humane Society, are stricter when it comes to finding the perfect family for a dog or cat.

The entire family is asked to meet and greet with an adoptable pet, fill out adoption papers and pay a fee before adopting.

Nevada Humane Society spokeswoman Kimberly Wade said staff members interview families to make sure a particular pet is a good fit.

"If we have a Labrador retriever up for adoption and the family doesn't plan on taking the dog for walks or they leave it at home too much, then that's not a good fit, because those types of dogs are very energetic and need attention," Wade said.

Wade said many pet owners don't have the right resources to screen through families looking to adopt.

"You can't police people," Wade said. "Nobody can monitor what's going to happen and there are people out there that do in fact lie and that's the reality."

"... We'll give them all the resources to re-home their pet," she said of the organization's animal help desk. "It's up to the person on how they want to put their pet up for adoption."

Schiller, head of Animal Services, said he encourages people to use local organizations licensed to put their pets for up for adoption.

"I would lead people away from social media, for the person giving the dog or the person getting the dog," he said. "There's no guarantee with what you're getting."

HOW TO ADOPT

Visit www.spcanevada.org or www.nevadahumanesociety.org for more information on how to adopt a pet.

HOW TO REPORT ANIMAL ABUSE

To report animal abuse visit www.washoecounty.us/animal or call 353-8900.