TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Two Tyler men, both accused of killing a dog by hanging it from a tree, did so to avoid an increase in rent, documents say.
Billy Darnell Perry, 33, and Jay Heath Stansberry, 17, are charged with the criminal offense of Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals (torture), which is a third-degree felony.
The investigation began after a property owner near County Road 314 saw the two men on his posted private property and ran them off. He checked the woods where they had been and found a white dog hanging from a tree.
A Smith County deputy spoke with a woman who identified Perry as her son. Unpromoted, she then asked Perry what Stansberry had done to the dog.
Perry said Stansberry had hung it, according to the affidavit.
Stansberry later told deputies that Perry first attempted to strangle the dog and was unsuccessful. Stansberry said he then assisted Perry in hanging the dog using the tree and its leash, according to the affidavit.
Stansberry said they did so after their landlord threatened to raise their rent because of the number of dogs at the home, the affidavit states.
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