Dwight Jones, who was a wide receiver for the New York Jets from 2013 to 2014, was charged Monday with felony animal cruelty for letting one of his Pit Bull mixes starve to death.
After receiving an anonymous call in February about animal cruelty at Jones’ home in Burlington, N.C., police discovered one dog dead in the yard, and the other malnourished.
“The sad part was it was 14 degrees,” Jessica Arias, director of Burlington Animal Services, told the Times-News. “That was the temperature reading when they were out there that night. It was just too cold.”
The dog who died was lying halfway inside a dog house. The surviving dog was taken to a shelter.
“We wish we had an answer for this,” Arias told the New York Daily News. “We see it all the time, but we don’t understand it at all.”
Jones’ bond was set at $5,000. It’s not the first time he’s facing charges. In February 2014, he was charged with “assault on a female, injury to personal property, injury to real property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle,” according to the Times-News.
Another former NFL player, Terrence Cody, is also facing felony charges for starving his own dog to death.
In February, the former nose tackle for the Baltimore Ravens was indicted for “cruelly torturing” and “intentionally killing” Taz, his Presa Canarios Mastiff. He was also charged with five misdemeanor animal abuse and neglect counts, along with several charges for abusing and neglecting a pet alligator.
Cody is free on $10,000 bail. He has not yet been assigned a court date.
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