DA drops animal cruelty charges against Falcons' Babineaux

ATLANTA - A prosecutor has dismissed a felony animal cruelty charge against Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said today that his office did an exhaustive investigation after police charged Babineaux with killing his girlfriend's pit bull-mix in February.

Porter said investigators verified that the dog had a history of unprovoked attacks, and that a dog trainer had told Babineaux to spin the dog on a leash when it became aggressive.

One of his lawyers, Pat McDonough, said Babineaux probably would have been suspended from the NFL if a grand jury had indicted him.

McDonough said, ``We are extremely excited that we were able to prove that Jonathan was innocent. The stakes were very high for him. This was the end of a very promising career if things went the wrong way.''

Babineaux's lawyer also praised Falcons owner Arthur Blank for sticking by Babineaux even though he was under pressure to trade him. Detractors of Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick, who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to dog fighting, have linked the two cases in protests.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for Blank to suspend Babineaux.