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Animal Cruelty Charge Dropped Against Pea Ridge Woman

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a Pea Ride woman accused of killing a puppy last summer because they couldn’...
T. Ingle (2)

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a Pea Ride woman accused of killing a puppy last summer because they couldn’t find the animal.

Tonia Ingle, 37, faced one count of aggravated animal cruelty to a dog, a Class D felony.

Washington County Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay granted the state’s motion to dismiss the charge due to “the inability to locate the alleged victim,” according to the Washington County prosecutor’s office.

Lindsay also dismissed Ingle’s failure to appear charge for missing her arraignment.

The puppy’s owner said Ingle showed up July 24, 2017, at his home on Henson Farm Lane and killed his puppy during a fight, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The man said Ingle “appeared to be high on something” and passed out while they were talking. When he tried to wake her, she started gasping for air, so he called 911.

When Ingle woke up she was so enraged that he had called paramedics, she started yelling and kicking things, according to an arrest report.

The man said he pushed Ingle toward the door, but she noticed the man’s puppy and stomped on it, according to the report. The man said the animal was gasping for air and died in his hands a few moments later.

Sheriff’s deputies described the puppy as lifeless when they arrived on scene.

Ingle later met deputies at Wal-Mart and at first said “what puppy?” when asked about the incident. Ingle said she may have “accidentally stepped” on the puppy during the fight, according to the report.

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