New Jersey Man Accused of Leaving Dog to Drown Inside Crate Arrested

A Long Branch, New Jersey man accused of leaving a dog trapped inside a wire crate along a rocky beach with the intention of drowning him has finally been arrested.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni made the announcement that 36-year old Aaron D. Davis, the Long Branch, New Jersey man accused of locking a young dog inside a wire crate and abandoning him along a rocky beach with the intention of drowning the dog.

Dog-lover Jennifer Vaz found the pit bull mix puppy trapped inside the cage while she was out walking her own dog in Veterans Memorial Park in Highlands more than a week ago. Vaz was walking her dog, Molly, when she kept pulling toward the water. As they got closer, Vaz began to hear whimpering and discovered the young pup struggling to keep his head above water as the tide rushed in, nearly covering the entire cage. She pulled the dog from the water and contacted police and the SPCA for help.

Following their investigation, police had been searching for Aaron D. Davis since issuing a warrant for his arrest on Friday. On Tuesday, Davis turned himself in to Monmouth County Police without incident.

Davis has been charged with third-degree attempting to cause death or serious bodily injury to an animal and three disorderly persons offenses including abandonment of a domestic animal, failure to provide necessary care and failure to provide proper shelter, Gramiccioni said.

Vaz named the healthy, happy boy River and hopes to foster and eventually adopt him. He has been issued a clean bill of health.