Results from necropsies conducted on canine carcasses discovered during a raid of DMX’s home have returned. The exams conducted by a veterinarian examiner with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office reveal that one of the animals had shoulder fractures, wounds consistent with dog bites on both of its right legs, and had been burned. Another one of the three deceased dogs was also found to have apparent dog bite injuries on its lower right leg. And the remaining animal appears to have suffered blunt force trauma to its shoulder, and additional trauma to the chest and abdomen area.
The pit bulls shallow graves were discovered after an anonymous tip was received by the sheriff office’s animal cruelty complaint hotline that undernourished dogs with dry water bowls were seen at the Cave Creek, Arizona property owned by DMX. Nearly three weeks of subsequent investigation were conducted, with seven different visits being made to the property from August 3rd to August 22nd, in an attempt to resolve the alleged neglect before the August 24th raid.
According to reports, the dogs were to have been being cared for by a Bradley Blackwell while DMX was out of town. Mr. Blackwell told investigators about the buried dogs when they arrived at the property for the raid, stating that they had likely died in their cages in the home when the air conditioning system broke. Blackwell also informed deputies that he had warned DMX that he could only provide food and water to the dogs for a couple of days because he was going on vacation. DMX’s New York attorney, Murray Richman, has denied this claim, stating that Blackwell had been paid by DMX to care for the dogs and that he had not left his care taking obligations to go on vacation.
In addition to the discovery of the graves, during the raid Sheriff’s deputies seized a dozen more dogs that had been left outside in the 100+ degree Arizona heat without water and food.
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Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, who it should be noted has gained national notoriety for allowing human beings to be exposed to the same dangerously oppressive heat via his outdoor county jail or “tent city,” has stated that during the raid small amounts of marijuana and what has since been determined to be cocaine were also discovered in DMX’s home. Sheriff Arpaio has also commissioned his ballistic experts to inspect guns found in the home to determine if they could be legally owned.
While the investigation into alleged animal cruelty by DMX and Bradley Blackwell is ongoing and no one has been charged with a crime as of the publishing of this piece, Sheriff Arpaio has made it known publicly that his policy is that anyone who abuses animals will be arrested, he’s just not sure who that will be as of yet in this case.
Sources: TMZ.com, ABC News, Arizona Republic
