Cruelty charges filed in animal case

By Barry Porterfield
Pauls Valley Daily Democrat

September 23, 2008 10:16 am

— A Pauls Valley couple now faces multiple criminal charges after authorities reported late last month finding the carcasses of dead animals in their local backyard.
All the counts are the same against 23-year-olds Robert Alan Sweetman and Christina M. Sweetman - felony charges of cruelty to animals.
Each received four formal charges Thursday in Garvin County District Court related to an allegation from early August.
Both subjects were also handed two more animal cruelty charges with each based on a similar incident back in May 2007.
The most recent incident came Aug. 29 when PV Police were dispatched to a home in the 200 block of South Elm.
In the backyard area workers from a next-door neighbor's house found what appeared to be the remains of two dead dogs locked in a pen.
Reports filed at that time show officers next found the skeletal remains of two other animals - later determined to be cats - in a separate cage in the same area.
Court records show the collie puppy, Chinese pug and two kittens died after being deprived of “necessary food, drink, shelter and veterinary care.”
Officers at the scene reported Robert Sweetman told them the dogs stopped eating as he just stopped going in to the “backyard that much.”
They also reported he agreed with them the situation was animal neglect.
Those same officers reported Christina Sweetman claimed she had earlier placed the two kittens in a cage but thought they had escaped.
The second set of cruelty charges against the couple stems from a discovery back on May 19, 2007 at a residence in the 100 block of South Pecan.
In the backyard at that site a small, black dog was found dead in a pen, while a second dog was described as being “very malnourished” as officials reported seeing the animals ribs.
According to a filed affidavit, the first dog had been dead for at least a week.
That same court document showed Robert Sweetman claimed to know about the dead dog but hadn't yet disposed of the body.