Glenn Joassaint faces animal cruelty charges after fracturing dog's jaw

FLORIDA -- A man is facing charges of animal cruelty after breaking a dog's jaw, then depriving it of medical attention.

According to an arrest report by Boynton Beach police, Glenn Joassaint is charged with felony cruelty to animals and misdemeanor cruelty to animals.

Police said they received information from Palm Beach Animal Care and Control after Ivan Paixao brought a pit bull mix named Cody to Paws2Help Animal Clinic on March 26 to be examined for a mouth injury.

Paixao told the veterinarian that the dog was owned by his daughter, Jennifer, and that the injury was inflicted by the boyfriend of one of his other daughters two weeks earlier.

The veterinarian told police that the dog had suffered a fracture to the jaw, which caused downward displacement of several upper teeth, indicating blunt-force trauma, the report said.

Jennifer told police that she rented a room in her home to her sister, and Joassaint, her sister's boyfriend. She often left the dog in the care of her sister and Joassaint while she worked two jobs.

She noticed Cody becoming more aggressive and fearful of certain objects, the report said.

While playing with her dog, she noticed that his "teeth looked funny."

When she confronted her sister and Joassaint, they laughed it off and told her that the dog was probably born like that, the report said.

She said she came home later to find the dog sitting in its own urine with several holes in the wall behind the dog's bed.

Fearing for her dog's safety and her own safety, she took Cody to her father's home, and he took the dog to Paws2Help.

Her sister later admitted to what happened via text message. The message said, "We he hit cody I thought it was his nose Bc a Lil blood. I didn't tell you because the next morning he seemed fine."

In another message, the sister texted, "I know he is wrong because he is went too far but ur never home to discipline cody when he gets into trash, s*** or pissed or chews up something."

During an interview with police, Joassaint was asked to re-enact the incident. It was evident to police that it was Joassaint who inflicted the blow in a manner so violent that it fractured the dog's jaw, the report said.

Joassaint was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail and is also facing additional charges for possession of marijuana and driving with a revoked license.

(WPBF West Palm Beach - May 20, 2015)