The man who stomped his wife’s dog has plead not guilty and remains locked up. Charles Van Pelt, who is 26, waived his appearance in court. He is being charged with aggravated animal assault and cruelty. Van Pelt is accused of driving his wife, Loren Van Pelt, to work and returning home to do the unthinkable. He stomped his wife beloved dog after trapping the pup in its pen. Penny the dog suffered from seizures, brain damage and serious head trauma. Unfortunately Penny couldn’t recover and a veterinarian decided to euthanize Penny. His public defender decided to not order a mental health evaluation. The Judge said: “it would be nice to know what was going on with him.” “If something

drove him to actually do this act to that dog, what’s keeping him from doing this to a human being,” Judge Hunter said. He also denied bond. Jennifer Reese, a coworker who drove Loren Van Pelt home that day, told a news outlet after court,that she was happy that Van Pelt was not given bond. “I feel so much safer knowing that he’s not going to be out on the streets,” she said. The wife did not appear in court. Her mother, who is Holly Norrell, said that the situation has been an “emotional rollercoaster” for Loren. “We’re doing the best we can do with her right now,” Norrell said. “It’s going to be a very long journey for her.”