Jason Gentry, considered for town animal control officer job, suspected of killing puppies

MASSACHUSETTS -- After puppies were found dead in trash bags behind a dumpster, a man from the North of Boston area is facing animal cruelty charges in two courts.
 
The same man was poised to become the Danvers, Mass. animal control officer about three years ago.

Jason Gentry, 35, was arraigned Tuesday in Chelsea District Court on charges he killed two puppies, found in trash bags behind a Revere gas station late last year.

Last week he was arraigned in Lynn District Court on separate charges of animal cruelty for allegedly running an illegal, squalid kennel in that city.


He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

A background check was 'not pristine'
 Gentry applied for the Danvers position as an independent contractor approximately three years ago, said Peter Mirandi, the town's director of public health, who met with Gentry a couple of times.

"We seriously considered him," Mirandi said. "He took our radio and our car, and we reneged within a week. ... We did not contract him, otherwise we would be dealing with bigger issues today."

One thing that made Gentry an attractive candidate for the job, Mirandi said, is that he is a large man — court records put him at 5 feet, 11 inches and 275 pounds — who was accustomed to working with large dogs.

"It's a tough position, too, trying to find someone to work with dogs," Mirandi said. 

5 Station Road in Salem is the home of Jason Gentry, who is accused of
 animal cruelty in dog deaths. DAVID LE/Staff photo

 

Gentry was issued a radio to respond to calls and a town of Danvers vehicle. But town officials had misgivings after learning more about his background.

"At the time, there was the thing going on in Salem. His background check did not come in pristine," Mirandi said. After consulting with town counsel, the town severed the relationship.

At around that time, Gentry was one of six men charged in connection with an oxycodone pill distribution ring on the North Shore. The charge against him was later dismissed.

3 dogs dead
Investigators from Revere and Lynn as well as the Animal Rescue League began investigating Gentry and his kennel after two, 20-week-old puppies were found in trash bags behind a Revere gas station.

Gentry allegedly made statements admitting that he had "culled" the puppies because they did not meet the standards of the so-called "Donovan pinscher" breed.

The "designer" breed was created by a New York man named Dominic Donovan, 51, who was also arrested this week in Long Beach, N.Y.

 After the discovery of the dead puppies, investigators learned that an adult dog, named Wotan, had died either before or during transit from Massachusetts to New York.

Investigators believe all three dogs were "hung" from a capture pole until they lost consciousness.

Wotan, according to a witness, was also given three tablets of Valium hidden in a hot dog before being put into a crate.

Gentry and Donovan were involved in a financial dispute at the time, according to court papers.

(Sharonherald - ‎Jul 30, 2015‎)