Man pepper-sprays and stabs dog to death in fight with its owner, California cops say

A San Francisco man has been arrested after police said he pepper-sprayed and fatally stabbed another person’s dog during a fight.

Police arrested Timothy Darrell Hewitt, 49, after responding to a report on Mar. 12 about a fight involving a knife.

According to police, a 39-year-old man told them that Hewitt yelled at him when he walked by on the street. The man said he was with his friend and his dog, a Staffordshire Terrier named Maynard, police said.

During the fight, Hewitt is accused of spraying Maynard with pepper spray, causing the dog to run into the street, before Hewitt then stabbed Maynard in the torso, according to police. Authorities said the man and his friend disarmed Hewitt and held him until officers arrived and took him into custody.

Hewitt was booked on charges of animal cruelty resulting in death, brandishing a deadly weapon and possession of a switchblade knife, police said.

The man and Maynard were transported to the San Francisco SPCA, where the dog later died, according to police.

Hewitt was taken to a hospital for evaluation, police said.

This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Man pepper-sprays and stabs dog to death in fight with its owner, California cops say."