Crime & Safety

Des Plaines Man Punched Dog, Charged with Cruelty

The following arrest information was supplied by the Des Plaines Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

Des Plaines, IL -- A man was charged with aggravated cruelty after multiple witnesses reported seeing him punch a brown dog in front of his Des Plaines residence on June 7, said on Friday.

A witness reported seeing a man with long white hair in the front yard, pinning a dog on the ground and punching it.

Earlier:

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When police arrived they found blood on the porch and front door.

James Robert Wesolaski, 51, answered the door, and police stated Wesolaski appeared intoxicated and acted hostile toward the officers. According to the report, Wesolaski was bleeding from dog bite wounds on his hands and face.

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Wesolaski told police he got into a fight with his dog because it ran out the front door, and he said, “I’m done being nice.”

Police placed Wesolaski in handcuffs and took three dogs into custody, including the brown injured dog.

One witness told police, according to the police report, seeing Wesolaski straddling the dog and punching it. The dog yelped, and he picked “the dog up by the scruff of its neck and took it inside.”

Another witness told police, while driving by the scene on Wolf Road, Wesolaski was seen punching the dog “four or five times as hard as he could.”

The three dogs were transported to Northwest Animal Hospital for treatment. An employee of Northwest Animal Hospital, who asked not to be identified, said the injured dog was alive and “doing fine.”

Wesolaski refused treatment.

Police stated employees of the animal hospital reported the dog was seriously injured. It had swollen eyes, which were bleeding from trauma and head injuries. Also, the capillaries in the dog’s eyes were broken, which indicated the dog was choked.

Wesolaski told police, according to the report, he was having a bad day and punched the dog because it escaped the house.

Wesolaski was charged with a felony, aggravated cruelty, and given a court date of June 19.


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