Skeletal remains of 3 animals locked inside Pinellas home found, former owner arrested
SEMINOLE, Fla. - A Pinellas County man has been charged for animal cruelty after three pets – two dogs and a cat – were found dead inside his former home, locked in a room with no food or water.
The new homeowners, who bought the house at auction and may have lived there before, arrived to see skeletal remains and a horrible scene inside the home, including doors that appear to be scratched through by the animals and fecal matter everywhere. The Pinellas County Sheriffs Office and Pinellas County Animal Services arrived at the scene shortly after.
The man charged, who goes by Scott Newmark as well as the alias Scott Vonharten, was arrested and released on a $20,000 bond over the weekend. Newmark has a previous arrest record, including instances of animal abuse.
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Another dog and cat had been confiscated at a different address of Newmark’s in September. Those animals saved by animal services, and in the legal process of being eligible to be put up for adoption.
"We have history with this gentleman previously," Doug Brightwell, the director of Pinellas County Animal Services, said Tuesday. "Through the microchips and two of the pets that were in there, and the name of the person who sold the home, it tracks back to the same individual who we confiscated a dog and the cat from in late September."
FOX 13 met the dog and cat who were saved from a previous address, who are now doing well.
"They're both doing really well. They're socialized regularly with staff. They're doing fantastic."
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The neighbor of the Seminole home said he didn’t know Newmark well, but that he seemed like a normal individual.
"By all outward appearances he seemed like an average guy," neighbor Greg Limardi said. "I would hear a dog barking periodically at night from outside, but I really didn’t think much of it. It’s not something you would ordinarily think that somebody would do."
Limardi said he and his girlfriend were appalled by the news.
"To hear that someone would lock them up in a room and mistreat them like that... words really can’t express the anger – or emotion – that is generated by hearing something like that, it’s horrible. You can’t imagine how someone could do that," he said.
Fortunately, Pinellas County Animal Services said it is a rare occurrence to see something this tragic.
"Fortunately, we don't deal with this extreme [of a case] on a regular basis. We see it frequently enough, but we're very thankful that we don't see it on a daily or weekly basis."