Bowie County Sheriff's Office arrested a male juvenile and a 20-year-old man for allegedly flipping a puppy in the air and throwing rocks at it on the surveillance video of a business in DeKalb, said Chief Deputy Jeff Neal.
On July 2, Deputy Russell Crawford met with a man named Allen Phillips in DeKalb who said that when he arrived at work that morning at a business in the 1300 block of U.S. Highway 82 West he found beer cans lying around outside.
"Mr. Phillips then reviewed the business' security camera footage and found that (two males) had been in the yard of the business while it was closed," Neal said. "Mr. Phillips said the two white males could be seen on video chasing a puppy around the yard, tossing it around and hitting it with a two-by-four.
"The two then attempted to retrieve a puppy that ran under a porch, but were unsuccessful in doing so."
Neal said Phillips told police that the two boys left for a short time before returning again and chasing the puppies around the yard of the business.
"Phillips did not know who the suspects were at the time of this report and was unable to provide the video footage to Deputy Crawford," Neal said. "Later in the day, information was relayed to Deputy Westin Fannin that the suspects in this case were Alan Cole Willis and his male juvenile friend."
When Lt. David Childers called Phillips to get a copy of the business surveillance video, Phillips said that he would be out of town until July 11 and that no one would be at the business until then, Neal said.
Since Willis and his friend had been identified as suspects, Willis was interviewed before the lieutenant had the video footage, and he "admitted to chasing and throwing rocks at a puppy," Neal said.
"The video footage of this incident was obtained from Mr. Phillips when he got back in town," Neal said. "This video shows the suspects flipping a puppy in the air and throwing rocks at it."
"It did not show either suspect striking a puppy with a two-by-four," he added.
The juvenile was also interviewed and gave a statement to authorities, according to a news release.
Lt. Childers prepared probable cause affidavits for both Willis and his younger friend for cruelty to non-livestock animals, Neal said, and Judge Nancy Talley issued warrants for their arrests after determining probable cause.
Willis was taken to Bi-State Justice Center, where his bond was later set at $15,000.
No further information about the juvenile was available except that he was turned over to juvenile authorities.