New Bedford detectives find two pit bulls in 'deplorable conditions'; Ramon Sanchez, 24, charged

MASSACHUSETTS -- Detectives found two pit bulls in what an animal control officer called "deplorable conditions" when they raided a North Front Street apartment late Monday night for drugs, police said.

The dogs were being kept in a third-floor rear hallway at 315 N. Front St. and there was feces "up and down the stairs," said Detective Capt. Steven Vicente, public information officer of the New Bedford Police Department.

Cheryl Jackson, an assistant animal control officer in New Bedford, was called to the scene and described the conditions as "deplorable," according to Vicente.

Detectives from the department's Organized Crime Intelligence Bureau seized four ounces of marijuana and $370 in cash and arrested Ramon Sanchez, 24, of the same address, he said. The case was investigated by Detective Kevin Barbosa.

Sanchez is charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana (subsequent offense), and animal cruelty because of the way the dogs were being kept, he said.

Vicente said the charge is "more neglect than cruelty."

(South Coast Today - Feb 23, 2016)