Arrest In Gruesome Dog Decapitation

MARCH 23--A 24-year-old Minnesota man was charged today for decapitating the therapy dog of a former girlfriend and then sending the animal's severed head to her in a gift-wrapped box. According to a criminal complaint charging Anthony Gomez with felony animal cruelty and torture, he admitted involvement in the killing of Chevy, a 4-year-old Australian shepherd mix owned by Crystal Brown, a 17-year-old St. Paul girl. The complaint, a copy of which you'll find below, alleges that Gomez's cell phone contained video of a dog being decapitated by a chainsaw. While Gomez told cops that he was present when the dog was killed in his basement, he claimed that the ghoulish attack was carried out by others. He added that, 'it was done because of missing drugs,' reported investigator Jim Gray. Gomez, pictured in the above mug shot, once dated Brown and was reportedly jealous when she began seeing someone else. Brown discovered Chevy's head last month when she opened a box (wrapped in Christmas gift paper) that was left at her Elk Street door. Along with the dog's head, the teenager found a twin pack of AA batteries and 'two small boxes of valentine candy.' Brown told police that Chevy had been her therapy dog for four years, describing the pet as 'a friend to tell things to.' (2 pages)