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PAROWAN — Dead chickens, a dead goat and dogs that were being kept alive by neighbors who would sneak food to them were found on a Parowan man's residence by police, according to a search warrant unsealed Wednesday.
John Carlos Salinas, 45, was charged in Parowan Justice Court earlier this month with six misdemeanors, including two counts of cruelty to animals. The next day, those charges were amended so that Salinas now faces 21 counts of cruelty to animals, a class B misdemeanor, and four counts of failing to register a dog, a class C misdemeanor.
An arraignment is scheduled for April 19. Salinas is also currently charged with intentional child abuse, a second-degree felony, in another case. A jury trial in that case is scheduled to begin May 4.
Parowan police received an email from the Humane Society of Utah on Feb. 20 regarding a complaint by a couple who claimed Salinas was "failing to take care of (his) animals. They reported that at least one of the animals had died," according to a search warrant affidavit filed in 1st District Court.
At the time, a wrong address was given and police could not find the animals. On March 8, another neighbor went to police to also report that Salinas was not taking care of his animals and that neighbors were feeding them, the affidavit states.
An officer went to that neighborhood less than an hour later and looked into Salinas' backyard from a neighbor's yard.
"I could see a dead goat in the very back yard. I could also see at least two dead chickens in the backyard. I saw a black and white dog, and a tan hound type dog, both tied up. I could see several live goats and chickens. She told me that the goat had been dead since about mid-February. She told me that she feeds the animals regularly because she is concerned about them," according to the warrant.
Salinas claimed the goat had been shot and that he reported it to police. But police have no record of that, the affidavit states. Neighbors told police that they had never seen Salinas give the goats water — possibly because he is unable to do so due to his own health — and that they would have heard something if the goat had been shot. Neighbors "felt it had died from lack of food or water," the warrant states.
Several neighbors told police they tried to give the animals food and water when they could. The also noted that Salinas' dogs had been seen chasing the chickens in the past.
"He told me that Salinas started out with over 12 chickens, and they have been slowly dying off, and now he only has a few chickens left," the officer noted in the affidavit.
On March 3, a neighbor told police that he "heard one of the dogs barking nonstop. He said that when he went to check on it, he found it wrapped up in its chain to the point that it couldn’t move, and was in danger of choking. There was some food, but the dog wasn’t able to reach it. The other dog didn’t have any food. Neither dog had water," the warrant states.
A search of the property by police resulted in the discovery of one dead goat, 11 dead chickens, and police taking 109 pictures as evidence.
