LAKEPORT >> A Lakeport man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly killing his dog with a machete.
William Richard Gatlyn, 27, faces a charge of felony animal cruelty. He has prior arrests on his record for battery, burglary, trespassing, public intoxication and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Investigators have not established precisely when the incident occurred, but dispatch received a call approximately 10:30 a.m. reporting that a man in the 70 block of Lily Cove, near the corner of Main St., was “threatening to cut up his dog and kill people with a machete.”
An officer from the Lakeport Police Department and a Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy arrived at the scene to find Gatlyn on the outside step of an entry into his apartment. According to LPD Chief Brad Rasmussen, the suspect refused to cooperate with the officers.
Gatlyn was restrained when he reached into a pocket.
When officers entered the apartment they found a Chihuahua with several deep lacerations and a machete placed across its body. The dog was dead, lying on the living room floor.
Authorities sent addtional LPD officers to conduct an investigation and requested assistance from Lake County Animal Care & Control. An LCACC officer took possession of the dog’s body.
An investigation by both LPD and LCACC continues.
