By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Stillwater teenager accused of attempting to strangle a brown and white puppy that also had injuries to its face has been ordered to appear in court with an attorney on Feb. 10, 2022, on a felony charge of animal cruelty.
Christian Alexzavier Gwen Wright, 19, was arrested at 10:47 pm on Dec. 3 by Stillwater Police Officer Damian Neiswanger, who had been sent to Wright’s residence about 40 minutes earlier, court records show.
If convicted of injuring the puppy that was kept inside his apartment, Wright could be given as much as a five-year prison term and a $5,000 fine. Wright remains free on $2,500 bail, court records show.
No information was available today regarding the puppy’s current condition, which was not included in the affidavit.
The officer had been sent to a residence on N. Duncan Street at 10:09 pm regarding a fight, according to his affidavit.
“As I approached the apartment, a female approached me and began telling me what was going on,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
She said that “her sister’s boyfriend, Christian Wright, had strangled a dog,” and told the officer repeatedly that she thought it was dead, the affidavit alleged.
She “told me they were all in the house together, and she said that Christian picked up the dog and took it to his room. She said that while he was in the room, she could hear the dog yelping and a lot of thumping,” the affidavit alleged.
She said “when she went in the room, she observed Christian strangling the dog. She said that she attempted to stop him by pulling his hands off the dog, and he dropped the dog and tried to choke her,” the affidavit alleged.
“She also said that her finger was smashed in the altercation. She was asked if she wanted to pursue charges for the assault, but she declined,” the affidavit alleged.
“While I was looking around the house, I noticed there was a large amount of urine and feces throughout the house. While I was in the house, Sgt. Andrew Wilson advised that he made contact with a male at Hall of Fame and Duck who was involved in the situation.
“I located the dog behind a chair in the living room, and it was trying to hide itself from me. I also noticed the dog had multiple lacerations on its face and mouth. The dog was also drooling, and there was blood coming from its mouth,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
A man who arrived at the apartment said “he was in the living room, and Christian told the dog to come to him, but it would not. (He) said that Christian picked up the dog and took it to his room, and he heard a lot of thumping and the dog whining. He said that (the woman) attempted to stop Christian and he began choking her,” the affidavit alleged.
The man “said that he stepped in and broke up the altercation, and Christian started coming towards him. He said that he did defend himself against Christian, and then he began running away from Christian to get him away from the dog,” and the woman, the affidavit alleged.
After Sgt. Wilson arrived on scene, the officer took photographs of the dog and its injuries before going to speak to the defendant and arresting him, the affidavit said.
