Indiana: James Wilson, 27, is accused of beating and strangling his dog and then pushing Good Samaritan who tried to stop him down a flight of stairs

INDIANA -- A northern Indiana man was arrested after police say he beat his dog with a steel-toed boot and then pushed a woman down stairs when she tried to stop him.

Officers were called to investigate the incident in 100 block of West 7th Street around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

When police arrived, a woman told them the suspect, 27-year-old James Wilson II, had gotten mad at his dog when it wouldn’t listen to him.

Then, she said Wilson grabbed the dog’s collar and began choking it.

The woman said the dog bit Wilson in an attempt to get away, so he removed one of his steel-toed boots and began beating the animal in the head with it, according to court records.

Wilson admitted to police that he “lost it” and started beating the dog after it “snapped” at him.

The woman said Wilson later threatened to kill the dog when she tried to protect it. He then reportedly grabbed the woman and threw her down a set of stairs. 

There was also a 1-year-old child in the home at the time that woke several times during the incident, court records say.

When Wilson was taken into custody, officers realized he had sustained lacerations to his wrist from the dog bite, but he declined medical services. When he was being transported to jail, officers say Wilson said several times that he intended to kill the dog when he got out of jail.

James faces charges of possession of a look-a-like substance with a prior conviction, domestic battery in the presence of a minor, harboring a non-immunized dog that bit a person, and cruelty to an animal by beating.

(FOX59 - Feb 8, 2017)