“I’m fearing for my life, and if you don’t get some law out here and do something about it, I’m gonna kill those (expletive) dogs,” he said.
Sagraves said his neighbors’ dogs continuously get out despite him telling them to keep them behind the fence.
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“My cat’s about ready to die and those dogs are getting loose around my grandkids,” he said.
Sagraves’ cat died during the attack.
Three minutes later, police received a 9-1-1 call from the neighbor, identified as Lisa Marie Everhart. She admitted her dogs had gotten loose, but then said a man, later identified as Sagraves, allegedly broke into her house and hit her dog in the head with a wooden baseball bat, according to court records.
“The guy literally just broke in my house and just cracked my dog upside the head with a bat,” she told the dispatcher through tears. “My dog is freaking bleeding. I think he’s about to die.”
Everhart said the vet later told her that her dog, King, was brain dead and had to be put down. Her other pit bull, Queen, was unharmed.
She said the entire incident happened in front of her young daughter. She said neither of her dogs would ever bite a soul.
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“He was a family member to us. He wasn’t just a dog,” she said.
According to court records, Sagraves said he asked for permission to enter the house and Everhart said yes, however she disputes the claim.
Sagraves also told police he hit the dog “out of self-defense,” according to court records.
While officers placed Sagraves under arrest, they overheard him say to family members the attack was “totally (expletive) worth it,” according to court records.
A court affidavit says two other people witnessed the attack.
Sagraves has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated burglary and cruelty to animals. If convicted of aggravated burglary, he could face up to 11 years in prison. Everhart also faces a misdemeanor charge for failing to confine her dogs. She’s yet to appear in court.
This news organization reached out to Sagraves for comment, but did not hear back from him.
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