54-year-old Thommy Wesley Wade of Brownwood was found guilty of animal cruelty by Judge Stephen Ellis Thursday afternoon. Wade was sentenced to 10 years probation and was ordered to serve 400 hours of community service.
Brownwood Animal Control officer Judy Williams stated she was pleased with the outcome of the trial.
“I think the judge gave a fair judgment in giving Mr. Wade 10 years probation and 400 hours community service,” said Williams. “My main reason for this case was to get justice for this sweet dog and send a message that Brownwood will not tolerate animal abuse and (those who abuse) will be prosecuted to the letter of the law.”
Wade was taken into custody in December 2014 after a Brown County Grand Jury indicted him in a highly publicized animal cruelty incident involving the October 20th beating and stabbing of a male pit bulldog in Brownwood.
Brownwood Assistant Chief of Police James Fuller confirmed at that time that Wade turned himself in at 9:00 a.m. Monday morning, December 8, 2014 at the Brownwood Police Department and confirmed that Wade had also recently been issued a criminal trespass warning for the house where the incident occurred.
Law enforcement stated that Wade was not the owner of the dog as initially reported, that he was actually asked to care for the dog while his owner was incarcerated. According to officials at the Corinne T. Smith Animal Center, the owner of the dog has signed away his rights as the owner of the dog. “Bruiser” as he had been affectionately named during his rescue, has been taken in by a pit bulldog rescue ranch, Angels and Outlaws.
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