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Detroit man accused of assaulting sister, stabbing her dog
An 18-year-old Detroit man is out on bond after disturbing allegations he assaulted his sister and stabbed her dog with a pocketknife.
FOX 2 - An 18-year-old man from Detroit is out on bond, charged with assaulting his older sister and stabbing her dog with a pocketknife.
The backstory:
Prosecutors say Joshua Shakur Leroy Cawthon assaulted his 25-year-old sister whom he lives with, and attacked her dog, which suffered non-fatal injuries.
Cawthon was charged with one count of animals – killing/torturing – first degree, one count of felonious assault, and one count of domestic violence.
An argument escalated inside their home in the 16500 block of Lesure Street the night of Oct. 3rd, leading to the alleged attacks.
Cawthon is said to have threatened his sister, then assaulted the dog. He turned himself in, 10 days later at the Detroit Detention Center on Oct. 13.
In court, his attorney Sterling Coleman, claimed the Cawthon acted in self-defense against the dog.
"I can indicate there will be a witness who was attacked by this dog," Coleman said. "And who had recently been sent to the hospital by this animal. So this animal was a vicious animal, and what happened, happened in self-defense."
Cawthon was given a $10,000 bond and ordered no contact with his sister by Judge William Burton who called the case disturbing, but pointed out he had no prior criminal history.
The Source: Information for this report is from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and from Wednesday's court hearing.
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