A Texas man was arrested Saturday for alleged animal cruelty but did not appear in court Tuesday after he failed to find a defense attorney willing to take the case, ABC 13 reported.
Officers searched the home of Justin Reilly Belton, 44, on Saturday, where they reportedly found six severely injured puppies, and a deceased adult dog they suspect is the mother of the puppies, according to KHOU11. Four of the six puppies found had legs or paws that had been cut off and one had to be euthanized, according to court records cited by ABC 13.
Animal abuse allegations were so heinous that on-call attorneys refused to represent the defendant: report
Justin Reilly Belton, 44, brought six puppies to an animal hospital, where the vet discovered that four of the puppies were missing limbs and tails https://t.co/diArclcI3a
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A vet’s full accounting found one puppy missing a paw, two puppies missing one leg, and one puppy missing two legs, according to Law & Crime.
When asked why some lawyers may not take on cases, defense attorney Matthew Sharpe stated, “[y]ou have a duty to your client to provide him or her with effective, zealous representation, so if there is something about the case that is going to interfere with your ability to do that, you shouldn’t take the case,” ABC13 reported.