By David Lohr

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March 28, 2007

ST. PAUL, Minn. (Crime Library)  —  Over the last two weeks, Crime Library has covered the story of 17-year-old Crystal Brown and the brutal killing of her special needs therapy dog, Chevy. Since our last update, one of Crystal's former friends has been charged in connection with her dog's death.   

On Thursday, St. Paul Police executed a search warrant at the home of 24-year-old Anthony Gomez, a former friend of Crystal's who allegedly bragged about the animal's torture to people in Crystal's neighborhood. When police searched Gomez's home, they discovered blood splattered in the basement of his house and a cell phone with video clips showing the dog being decapitated with a chain saw. Gomez was arrested and charged with felony counts of animal cruelty and torture.

The evidence police found at Gomez's house supports statements made to Crime Library last week by a person who claimed to have first-hand knowledge of what happened to Chevy. Speaking under the promise of anonymity, this individual shared similar information on how the dog was killed.

"He bragged about killing the dog," my source said. "He told me he took the dog down to his basement and hung it from the rafters. Then he cut the dog's head off while it was still alive. He thought it was funny, and he acted like he was proud of it."

According to the police complaint written by Sgt. Jim Gray, Gomez admitted the dog was beheaded in his basement but insisted that others did it after he told them to "cut its head off" with a chain saw. It was the same people who Gomez told police took the dog's head to Brown's house. Gomez also tried to tell authorities that Brown was present when the dog was killed—an allegation the authorities believe to be without merit.

"If Crystal was there, she would have chain-sawed his (Anthony's) head off," Crystal's grandmother, Shirley Brown, said in a telephone interview with Crime Library last night. "She loves animals, and there's no way she would sit back and let them do that. She would fight to the death."

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Contact  David Lohr at           crimewriter74@hughes.net

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