Currence

MILL CREEK — A Randolph County man is behind bars and accused of intentionally harming two pets.

Dustin Aaron Currence, 30, of Mill Creek, has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty, both misdemeanors. He is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $2,500 cash-only bond, set by Magistrate Ben Shepler.

According to the criminal complaint, prepared by Cpl. S.D. Kyle of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, the officer was dispatched to a home on the Adolph Road on Saturday regarding a man “tearing up the residence and abusing their pets.”

Currence’s brother told the officer that he saw Currence “grab one of the cats and hold its head as he was dumping water in its face,” and later “began standing on the cat,” the complaint states. The brother said “the cat later got away and he believed it was hiding somewhere in the house.”

The brother said Currence then grabbed one of their dogs and “took the choke collar off and began hitting the dog with it,” according to the complaint. He said he also saw Currence “punch the dog in the head.” He also said Currence “picked the dog up by the leg and slammed her down to the floor,” trying to break the dog’s leg.

The officer spoke with Currence, who said he “did dump water on the cat due to the cat scratching him,” using a half-gallon jug that held the water, the complaint states. He allegedly denied hitting the dog.

Kyle wrote that “the dog was a pitbull type breed and was friendly towards this officer… the dog did come to me and as (Currence) approached the dog began trembling and urinated on the floor.”

Currence’s brother also told the officer that he believed Currence was having “mental health problems,” the complaint states.