Leashed dog stabbed, killed while owners played pickleball – Law Officer

Asheville, North Carolina – A North Carolina man was slapped with a felony charge after he allegedly stabbed and killed a dog in a park Monday while its owner was playing pickleball.

James Wesley Henry, 43, was charged with a felony count of cruelty to animals and is being held at the local detention center in Asheville on a $10,000 secure bond, according to jail records reported by local news outlet Asheville Watchdog.

Liesbeth Mackie, the owner of Beignet, an 11-year-old mixed breed, told the local outlet that while playing pickleball at Weaver Park in north Asheville, she and others heard the man yelling and arguing with himself before the “unprovoked” attack.

“I turned and looked at the dog and saw its last couple of yelps and twitches,” Hulin said. “It was covered in blood. There was blood everywhere. It took me a moment because I wasn’t sure what happened.”

Hulin noted that the man walked away as if “nothing even happened.”

Zen Sutherland, who said he was also at the scene, reported that he joined others who were following the suspect and saw him drop a knife on the sidewalk prior to surrendering to police.

Fox News reported that Henry has been arrested 16 times in Buncombe County from 2010 to 2022, according to data reported by Asheville Watchdog.

Asheville Police Capt. Michael Lamb said “the guy killed the dog with a knife, basically eviscerating it,” according to the local outlet.

“We’ve had over the last couple of months, whether it’s mental health, addiction or both, we have seen a lot of that erratic behavior around town,” Lamb said. “Typically, this is not something we’ve seen in the Weaver Park/north Asheville area, but it is starting to seemingly spread out.”

Asheville has been plagued with rising violent crime in recent years that has coincided with an exodus from the local police force, which is down more than 40%.