- Arkansas, USA -
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office arrested 60-years-old ALANE SUZETTE MALTESE and her husband, 54-years-old ROBERT ANDREW MALTESE (both pictured).
On the morning of Friday, February 16, 2024, deputies were dispatched to Tara Road in Lincoln after a resident, Ms. Regina Thompson, called to report that her blind 16-year-old Pomeranian had been beaten with a metal object by her neighbor, ALANE SUZETTE MALTESE.
Ms. Thompson told deputies that she went out to her car when she heard yelling coming from the road. She looked and saw her dog standing in the road. According to Ms. Thompson, ALANE SUZETTE MALTESE ran from her yard towards the dog with a metal bar-like object and started cursing them. She then threatened to kill the dog and Ms. Thompson.
Ms. Thompson said that MALTESE then grabbed the dog, beat him/her with the metal object, and took him/her into her house. Ms. Thompson said that after that, MALTESE got into her vehicle and fled.
Deputies interviewed a neighbor regarding the incident. The neighbor said he saw ROBERT ANDREW MALTESE walking outside with the dog, stuffing the furbaby into a trashcan and then stabbing him/her with a pitchfork. According to the neighbor, the dog could be heard “whelping and moaning” while being stabbed. The neighbor further said that MALTESE then proceeded to get the dog out of the trashcan, stuffed him/her into a bucket, and took him/her into the house.
At that point, deputies questioned MALTESE and he said he did not know what was going on. He told deputies he woke up to the yelling between his wife and Ms. Thompson. MALTESE denied his wife was beating Ms. Thompson’s dog. He claimed the dog was not inside his home and that he/she was safely chased from their home to Ms. Thompson’ s home. However, when deputies requested to search his home, MALTESE refused.
Deputies then called his wife on the phone and she said that she was on her way to Colorado and refused to answer the deputies’ questions.
A search warrant was obtained and served. Deputies found the dog still in the bucket that had an airtight lid on it. The Voiceless Victim was still alive but severely injured. Corporal Jake Hart with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office wrote in his report that the bucket was hidden underneath a cabinet “with a large water jug in front concealing it.”
Deputies returned the dog to Ms. Thompson who rushed him/her to the vet.
Deputies determined that the metal object used to beat the dog was the flat side of a machete. The machete and pitchfork were collected as evidence.
MALTES was placed under arrest and his wife was located at a church where she was taken into custody.
The veterinary report revealed that the dog had a fractured skull, fractured ribs, fractured front leg, and lacerations to the bone of the leg. Due to the severity of his/her injuries, the furvictim was sadly euthanized.
ALANE SUZETTE MALTESE is accused of first-degree terroristic threatening, aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat, or equine, and theft of property.
ROBERT ANDREW MALTESE is accused of aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat, or equine, tampering with physical evidence, hindering apprehension or prosecution, and theft of property.
Authorities did not disclose the furbaby’s name, so I took the liberty of naming him/her Blossom for the tribute image. Should his/her given name be made public, I will rectify it accordingly.
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Mugshots shared from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office
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