Butler man charged with electrocuting family dog
A Butler man is accused of a disturbing case of animal cruelty.
City police said 40-year old Paul Plakidas put a small dog in a cooler filled with water and placed a live electrical wire into the water, electrocuting the animal.
The incident happened in September at the defendant's then home on the 400 block of North Chestnut Street and involved the family's seven-year-old Maltese, a breed of lap dog.
District Judge William Fullerton on Wednesday arraigned Plakidas on a pair of felony charges in the case. He is free on his own recognizance.
The defendant's girlfriend initially called for police about 2:30 a.m. Sept. 1 to report a disturbance at their home, according to court documents.
She told officers that she had been gone for about an hour, police said, and when she returned home she found her dog dead and Plakidas “not acting himself.”
This is an excerpt — read the full report in Friday's Butler Eagle.
