Sugar Hill man charged with killing 4 puppies

SUGAR HILL - A Sugar Hill man is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals after killing four puppies with a shovel and burying them in his backyard.

Gwinnett Police Corporal Edwin Ritter said 31-year-old Jason Finley got into an argument with the owner of the puppies and her boyfriend who were visiting with Finley at his Suwanee Dam Road home. He said the puppies' owner then left the home to contact police as the argument escalated.

"The suspect took these puppies and killed them with a shovel and put them in a hole in the backyard," said Ritter.

Ritter said the puppies appeared to be dead for at least three days when authorities were contacted.

He said Finley was taken to the Gwinnett County Jail where he's being held on a $44,800 bond.

Ritter said it was the second arrest for Finley in a matter of days. He said officers had gone out to the same residence just a few days earlier in reference to an assault involving Finley and the boyfriend of the puppies' owner.