BUCYRUS, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—Patrick Grasley, a 23-year-old resident of Bucyrus, appeared in Crawford County Municipal Court on Friday to face serious animal cruelty charges. He is accused of two fifth-degree felonies, each carrying a penalty of up to 12 months in prison, along with a third-degree felony charge of tampering with evidence, which carries up to 36 months in prison.
Magistrate Timothy O’Leary presided over the hearing, during which Crawford County Assistant Prosecutor Dan Stanley presented the disturbing allegations. According to Stanley, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous tip on May 29 regarding alleged animal abuse at Grasley’s residence located at 1722 Lincoln Highway. The caller reported the presence of two deceased dogs in a cage within Grasley’s garage.
The anonymous source provided graphic photographs of the dogs, which had apparently been dead for weeks, as determined by the stage of decomposition. Evidence suggested that the animals attempted to escape their confines, digging holes into the ground in a desperate attempt to escape their death trap.
Upon arrival, deputies confirmed the gruesome findings. Grasley admitted to officers that he had not managed to remove the dogs before so he placed their bodies in a burn barrel the night before officers arrived. He also revealed that he was aware someone intended to report him for neglecting the animals.
Grasley claimed that the dogs belonged to his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Richardson, and told officers he was “forced” to care for them when she could not take them with her when they split. He told investigators that due to his work schedule at Kalmbach Feeds, he didn’t have time to take care of animals. He told officers the dogs had been without food or water for approximately a month.
Further inspection of Grasley’s home revealed two additional dogs inside; one, owned by his mother, was found to be in good health, while Grasley’s pet was notably underweight. Animal control was alerted, and Grasley was subsequently arrested. When asked about the well-being of his underweight dog, Grasley told officers that it would likely meet the same fate as the deceased animals.
During the proceedings, Magistrate O’Leary expressed shock over the allegations, pointing out the irony of Grasley’s employment at a company that handles food for various animals: “You’re telling me your job is to handle food for animals; that’s every day you go to work, there’s food for animals there, but based on these allegations, you couldn’t bring anything home for your own animals?” O’Leary asked. Grasley replied, “There’s no dog food there, it’s like farm animal food.” “If you didn’t want to care for these dogs, there’s the Humane Society and many other options. This is completely inexcusable,” O’Leary said, adding, this is about the worst example of this kind of offense. Pretty shocking.”
O’Leary appointed attorney Ben Thompson to represent Grasley. Bond was set at $100,000. As the case continues to unfold, more felony charges are expected to be leveled against Grasley. Crawford County Now will continue to cover this developing story.