Waterville police have arrested a Winslow woman and her boyfriend who they believe arranged for her two dangerous pit bulls to be stashed out of state in October, just as Maine’s highest court upheld a lower court decision to have the dogs euthanized.
Danielle Jones, 28, and Brandon Ross, 33, of 12 Lucille Ave., Winslow, were arrested at 8:30 a.m. today and charged with refusing or neglecting to comply with a dangerous dog court order, a Class D misdemeanor, Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey said. The couple was arrested as they arrived for work at The Muddy Paw, the business they own on Bay Street in Winslow, he said.
Jones’ pit bulls, Bentley and Kole, killed a dog and seriously injured a woman last year on Lucille Avenue in Winslow.
Massey said police followed a trail of text messages and phone numbers to determine Jones went to New Jersey after she took the dogs for a walk Oct. 24 outside the Humane Society Waterville Area on Webb Road in Waterville, just as the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld an earlier, lower court decision ordering the dogs euthanized.
Jones told shelter officials at the time that the dogs slipped their leashes and ran off into the woods, but police did not buy her story.
They have not yet been able to locate the pit bulls, but continue to search, according to Massey.
Contacted by phone at her business Wednesday afternoon, Jones referred questions to her attorney, Darrick Banda.
“Please don’t call here again,” she said.
Banda, whose office is based in Augusta, said in a phone interview that he had not yet had a chance to read the police affidavit in the case, but his first reaction is that the charge against Jones and Ross is probably one of the most outrageous things he has seen in his years of practicing law. Banda said he is confident the case against Jones will be either dismissed or she will be acquitted.
“I’m not exaggerating to say that this decision to charge is probably one of the most ridiculous things I’ve seen in over 15 years of practice,” he said.
He said Jones did not have legal custody of the pit bulls when they disappeared — the humane society did — and Jones had no legal responsibility to comply with the euthanasia order.
“She had no power over that,” Banda said.
He said Augusta attorney Scott Hess is representing Ross in the case. Hess was not in his office around 2:20 p.m. when a reporter called, but a message asking for comment was left with a woman who answered the phone there.
Waterville police Detective Kyle McDonald arrested Jones and Ross,with help from Waterville and Winslow police officers, Massey said. McDonald has been working the case since the dogs disappeared and on Tuesday obtained arrest warrants for Jones and Ross, he said.
The couple were taken to the Waterville Police Department and released on $2,000 cash bail. They are scheduled to appear Feb. 26 in Kennebec County Superior Court, Massey said.
“They both have conditions as part of their bail, as part of the arrest warrants, not to own or possess any new dogs,” Massey said. “They can keep any dogs they currently have; however, that does not apply to their business. She will continue to be able to work their business, which is The Muddy Paw.”
Massey said McDonald and other officers spent a lot of time investigating Jones’ movements, both locally and out of state, after the pit bulls disappeared. That required detectives to contact people both within and outside of Maine, and the officers were persistent, working through tedious details and connecting all the dots, according to Massey.
“It was a very labor intensive investigation that included going through numerous telephone logs for cell phone and texts,” he said.
Police worked closely with the Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office over the last several weeks on the case, which actually started more than a year ago.
On Aug. 30, 2016, Sharron Carey was walking her Boston terrier, Fergie Rose, down Lucille Avenue near her home, when Jones’ pit bulls, Bentley and Kole, broke free from their yard at 12 Lucille Ave. The pit bulls, a term used to encompass a variety of bull terriers but that is not a specific breed, attacked Carey and her dog. Fergie Rose died later that day and Carey was seriously injured.
After the incident, Jones was charged with two counts of keeping dangerous dogs. The district court found her guilty and ordered the dogs euthanized. She appealed to the higher court and on Oct. 24 this year that court upheld the lower court decision.
Massey said the court decision was rendered around 11 a.m. that day. Jones showed up around noon at the Humane Society Waterville Area where the dogs had been ordered to be housed last year by the court and took them for a walk.
Twenty minutes later, she returned to the shelter and said they had slipped their leashes.
Massey said it was unusual that she was allowed to walk the dogs, albeit in an enclosed area, for the entire year they were housed there. On Oct. 24, she wanted to walk the dogs by herself, he said.
Former Shelter director Lisa Smith said after the dogs disappeared that Jones had typically walked the dogs with Ross, but she was alone that day.
Massey said this morning that Jones went out of state to the New Jersey area Oct. 24 and returned the next day. That is when detectives tried to talk to her, but she declined and referred questions to her attorney, he said.
He said police are not sure where the dogs are, but they speculate she took the dogs to the New Jersey area. He said police looked at cell phone numbers called and text messages sent and received, and then researched addresses of people whose numbers they found and spoke with them.
“That provided a lot of information for us,” he said.
He said McDonald and other officers did great work investigating the case, and the district attorney’s office was of tremendous help as well.
Police continue to investigate, and McDonald is following up on information to try to track down the pit bulls, according to Massey.
This story will be updated.
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17