REVERE, MA – Police have charged a Revere man with animal cruelty after a Massachusetts State Trooper determined he chained a dog to an exposed steel rod at the edge of a beach, with a large rock attached to the chain to prevent the dog from escaping, and then walked away, leaving the dog to the mercy of the next high tide.
The dog was located chained to the steel rebar rod, which was protruding from the bottom of the ramp from Winthrop Parkway to Short Beach, and rescued by police and the owner of a Revere kennel. Had the dog not been found, he could have become submerged when the tide came in.
Elias Pacheco-Osario, 27, of Revere, was taken into custody by Troopers on Friday following a diligent investigation led by Trooper Carlo Mastromattei and assisted by several other Troopers and Revere Police Officers. Trooper Mastromattei worked on the investigation while working his shift out of the State Police-Revere Barracks and also while on his own time over the course of several days.
The dog, a male pit bull mix, is being cared for at Ocean View Kennels in Revere.
At about 12:15 PM Sunday, August 29, Trooper Mastromattei was dispatched to Winthrop Parkway for a report of an abandoned dog tied to a pole along the shoreline on Short Beach in Revere. Also assisting on scene was Revere Police Sgt. Jack Dean.
The approximately 50-pound dog had a thick metal chain around his neck with a heavy rock attached to it, preventing the dog from escaping. The dog was left in a secluded portion of the beach close to the waterline, chained to the piece of rebar exposed at the bottom of the walkway where it meets the sand at the high tide line. During certain parts of the day this portion of the beach is completely submerged, with the tide rising as high as street level, past the point where the dog was chained. The dog was at risk drowning in a couple of hours if he hadn’t been found.
Trooper Mastromattei subsequently obtained information that the suspect was a Hispanic male with facial hair who may live at an apartment at 35 Roughan St., an area not far from Short Beach.
The next day Trooper Mastromattei and Trooper Pasquale Zollo canvassed the area around the beach for residential video surveillance and located video from three separate residences showing a male suspect walking the dog toward Short Beach. A fourth video obtained by Revere Police Detective David Caramanica showed the same man walk down the beach ramp to the sand with the dog. All four videos show a metal chain collar and leash attached to the dog consistent with those found attached to the dog on scene.
On the morning of Friday, Sept. 3, Troopers Mastromattei, John Skabeikis, and Christopher Kane went to 35 Roughan St. in furtherance of the investigation. There, they developed information that the suspect, who indeed lived there, was Pacheco-Osario and that he was working at construction site in Wakefield. They also learned that the dog had been named “Killer.”
Trooper Mastromattei went to the job site and located Pacheco-Osario , who consented to be brought to the Revere Barracks to be interviewed. Upon arrival at the Revere Barracks Pacheco-Osario was issued Miranda rights in Spanish and volunteered to speak to Trooper Mastromattei and Revere Police Officer Joel Melendez. During the interview the Trooper and Officer were able to confirm that Pacheco-Osario had been the dog’s owner and had walked to the beach the previous Sunday, tied him to the steel rod, and walked away, abandoning him. The suspect said he had decided he could not keep the dog any longer.
Pacheco-Osario was then placed under arrest for animal cruelty and booked. escorted downstairs to the booking room and was advised that he was under arrest. Pacheco-Osario was booked with the assistance of Officer Melendez.
A bail clerk set $340 cash bail for Pacheco-Osario. He posted bail and is expected to be arraigned in Chelsea District Court Tuesday.
With this release are photos of Trooper Mastromattei with the dog taken at Ocean View Kennels and of the piece of rebar to which the dog was chained.