- April 25, 2024
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A Palm Coast man was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with felony animal cruelty after deputies said he stabbed a pit bull dog to death, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Richard Marier, 68, of the B-section, and a former Flagler County School Board member, told deputies that at around 5:58 p.m., the neighbor’s pit bull charged toward him and his dog, Breenie, a Shiba Inu.
Marier said the pit bull grabbed his dog by the throat and began viciously shaking it, according to the press release.
Deputies said Marier then produced a spring-loaded knife, longer than 3 inches, and stabbed the dog five times, eventually killing it. Marier was elected to the school board in 1994. He served one term after being defeated in his 1998 re-election bid.
The 5-year-old pit bull’s owner, Carlos A. Matos Jr., said his dog, Lala, ran out the door of his B-section home. Matos said he called for his dog, and the animal paused at the swale.
He stated the dog then approached Marier and Breenie as if to sniff, but he denied his dog ever lunged at the two, according to the release.
A witness told deputies he observed Lala run from inside the home, but he didn’t see her attack Marier’s dog.
Deputies said Breenie had no injuries or bite marks.
Marier was additionally charged with carry a concealed weapon in the commission of a felony. He was booked into the Flagler County Inmate Facility and released after posting $6,500 bond.
