MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A 25-year-old Frayser man was arrested earlier this month after he was accused of animal cruelty last month.
According to police, an officer responded to complaint of animal cruelty at 1924 Baldwin Ave in Frayser on September 24, 2021.
Police said a representative for animal services received a call from a concerned neighbor about animals being neglected at the home. The representative said the animals appeared to be unfed and dehydrated.
Officers knocked on the door to speak to the owner, but no one was home. A total of 11 dogs and a raccoon were retrieved from the home.
Investigators found items commonly used to train dogs to fight at the home including a swimming tank, a weighted pulley, weighted collars, and multiple syringes scattered throughout the yard.
Police said on September 26th, Lorenzo Clark went to the Memphis Animal Shelter and claimed he owned the dogs. When police asked him why his dogs were left on short chains with no access to water and weighted collars, Clark said he asked someone to watch them while he was out of town then abruptly stopped talking and left the shelter.
On October 6th, Clark went back to the animal shelter after the court asked about the dogs and was told the dogs are City of Memphis property because he didn’t pay the impound fees.
Investigators identified Clark as the owner of the animals. He was arrested and charged with 11 counts of cruelty to animals and 3 counts of animal fighting.
Jesse Kyles, who lives a couple doors down from him, said the arrest had an effect on him.
“When I first met him he was in high school. His mom and I were good friends. I would see him but what he was into and what he was doing I don’t know,” he said. “It has an effect on me it really does. Most people that have dogs have them for pets, you know, not fighters.”
Kyles said it’s hard to accept since he simply remembers him as the teenager he first met years ago.
“It’s hard to accept. For him to be as young as he is and he got to go to jail because ain’t no telling what kind of time he’ll end up with,” he said.
Clark recently bonded out of jail so we went to the home to see if he or anyone else was there, but no one answered the door.
Memphis Animal Services said it can’t comment on the case because of the pending charges.
At last check, the dogs are still at Memphis Animal Services, however, police said three of the dogs were euthanized due to being extremely aggressive to the other dogs at the shelter, a common trait among dogs that are trained to fight.
It is unclear what happened to the raccoon.
Clark is due in court next month.
