Cheltenham man to serve probation for animal cruelty

NORRISTOWN — A Cheltenham Township man will serve a period of probation after he was convicted of animal cruelty charges after witnesses reported to police that he punched and stomped on his dog in the yard of his home.

Carlton F. Gayle, 41, of the 300 block of Jefferson Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Friday to six months of probation on a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals in connection with incidents that occurred between October and November 2022.

The sentence was imposed by Judge Steven T. O’Neill who convicted Gayle of the charge during a nonjury trial in March. Specifically, the judge found that Gayle intentionally, knowingly or recklessly ill-treated, beat or abused his dog Judah and that the conduct placed the dog at imminent risk of serious bodily injury.

The judge also convicted Gayle of a summary charge of not properly licensing the dog.

Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle Hughes and co-prosecutor Hannah Victor handled the case. Defense lawyer Richard P. Coble represented Gayle during the court proceedings.

Officials said the mastiff dog was removed from Gayle’s possession.

An investigation began on Nov. 8, 2022, when a Montgomery County SPCA humane society police officer contacted police to report she had received a complaint from a citizen regarding the mistreatment of a dog by Gayle.

The reporting citizen showed the humane society officer a video, filmed on Oct. 7, 2022, that depicted Gayle walking toward the side yard of his home and “picking up his dog, by the neck and collar and then proceeds to forcefully slam the dog toward the ground into a central air conditioner unit for his house,” according to a criminal complaint filed by Cheltenham Detective Ronald Cupo.

“He then knelt down and punches the dog five times. Gayle yelled for the dog to stand up. He then again grabbed the dog by what appears to be the neck and picked him up. The dog is heard yelping at this point,” Cupo alleged in the criminal complaint, adding Gayle continued to yell at the dog to stand up.

A fence obstructed the view of what occurred next “but the dog is yelping, leading me to believe that the dog is experiencing pain,” Cupo alleged.

On Nov. 10, police received a call from an individual who said Gayle “was stomping on the dog at the rear of the yard.”

“The dog was again heard yelping as if in pain. This was witnessed by at least two individuals,” Cupo alleged.