Point Lookout Man Indicted In Neglecting, Starving Dog: Prosecutors

MINEOLA, NY — A Point Lookout man has been arrested following a grand jury indictment for the alleged neglect and starvation death of an adult dog he owned, prosecutors said.

Kevin Barnett, 70, was arraigned on Wednesday on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and overdriving, torturing and injuring animals. He also faces a count of failure to provide sustenance.

Barnett pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at the Pre-trial Services Agency with electronic monitoring. He is also barred from possessing any animals.

"This deceased animal was virtually skin and bones when the defendant brought her to be cremated at a local animal hospital," said Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly. "A necropsy performed on ‘Jessica,’ revealed the animal had been ingesting non-food items shortly before her death, indicating that she was starving and searching for food. Shockingly, the defendant attempted to adopt another dog through a local animal shelter just a few weeks before his arrest."

If convicted, the defendant faces up to one and 1/3 years to four years in prison. He is due back in court on November 27.

"This animal was severely neglected and clearly suffered," said Gary Rogers, president of the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.