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Suffolk man sentenced on animal cruelty charges

Posted at 10:07 AM, Jan 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-04 13:25:10-04

SUFFOLK, Va. – A 25-year-old Suffolk man was sentenced on Tuesday on multiple animal cruelty charges and inadequate animal care in Suffolk Circuit Court.

Jacob Chappell of Suffolk will serve 60 days in jail. All of his time was suspended for each of his charges with the exception of one count of Cruelty of Animals.

Jacob Richard Romes Chappell, (SPD)

Chappell was arrested in October on a total of 27 charges, including Animal Cruelty (15 counts), Fail to Care for Animals (11 counts) and Torture Dog or Cat Causing Death (1 count), after Suffolk Animal Control responded to a residence in the 5800 block of Mineral Spring Road in order to perform a welfare check on dogs at the location.

During the preliminary investigation, a deceased dog was found inside one of the pens next to the residence, along with a dog that was experiencing a heat-related health emergency and barely able to stand. There was no water and no shelter in the pen and the animal was seized and taken to a local veterinarian for emergency care.

Additional dogs were in other pens at the residence, several of which had little to no shelter on concrete or dirt floors to the pens and limited access to water during extreme heat conditions. These dogs were also seized due to the threat to their immediate safety and health.