Passers-by called police when they saw a man "passed out or sleeping" in his pickup truck outside the Walmart at 407 George Clauss Blvd. in Severn, Anne Arundel County Police said. A distressed dog was in the back seat.
Police said they responded to find James Huckaby (aka James Rufus Huckaby Sr.), 37, dragging his bulldog by the leash across the parking lot.
Huckaby told police he fell asleep while waiting to pick his friend up from work, police said.
Upon searching his silver Nissan Titan officers found five clear capsules of suspected heroin, two cut straws with white-powder residue, which were believed to be used for snorting heroin, police said.
Police said they called Animal Control officers because they believed the bulldog, called Diesel, was suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion.
When Animal Control arrived they saw the dog collapse after stumbling in an attempt to stand, police said.
Animal Control transported Diesel to an emergency veterinary clinic where, police said, the veterinarian recommended the dog be euthanized because of the "rapid deterioration of the dog's health and the poor prognosis."
Huckaby was released Thursday after a bail review.
Visitors and volunteers at the Anne Arundel County Animal Control Facility in Millersville said Friday that they saw a man arrive in a silver Nissan Titan truck and overheard him talking on his cellphone "saying several times that he was going to kill police officers for shooting his dog," police said.
The visitors and volunteers ran inside the building, locked the doors and called police.
Huckaby fled before officers arrived, police said.
Police officers were able to identify him and located him at his residence in Glen Burnie. He was arrested him without incident on charges of threats of violence, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct, police said.
Huckaby was still in custody pending a bail review Monday. Neither he nor a representative could be reached for comment before the hearing.
ARREST INFO:
Full name: James Rufus Huckaby
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthdate: 08/06/1979
Arrest age: 37
Agency: Anne Arundel County Police
Charges:
#1 Possession of heroin
#2 Possession of paraphernalia
#3 Animal cruelty
#4 Threats of violence
#5 Disorderly conduct
#6 Disturbing the peace
(Capital Gazette - July 17, 2017)
