MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURTS

Cheltenham man to serve six months of probation after "punching and stomping" his dog

Judah, a Mastiff, was removed from Carlton F. Gayle's care

Gavel (Credit: Wesley Tingey / Unsplash.com)

Judah, a Mastiff, was removed from Carlton F. Gayle's care

  • Courts

One Cheltenham man will serve six months of probation after facing charges in Montgomery County Courts for animal cruelty charges.

Carlton F. Gayle, 41, of the 300 block of Jefferson Avenue in Cheltenham, was sentenced on Oct. 4 after his conviction of misdemeanor animal cruelty charges stemming from incidents that occurred between October and November 2022, according to a report from Carl Hessler Jr. in The Reporter.

The probation was a result of a nonjury trial convicting Gayle after his knowing and reckless ill-treatment of his dog, Judah, whom courts say he beat and abused. The beatings, which included “punch” and “stomp” strikes, placed the pup in “imminent risk of serious bodily injury,” said Hessler’s report.

Officials in the case say that Judah, a mastiff dog, was removed from Gayle’s possession, following a Montgomery County SPCA humane society police investigation. Cheltenham Detective Ronald Cupo told the courts he investigated the matter after a witness filmed an Oct. 7, 2022 event of Gayle “picking up his dog, by the neck and collar, and then proceeds to forcefully slam the dog toward the ground into a central air conditioner unit for his house.” Cupo added, “he then knelt down and punches the dog five times,” along with additional abusive treatments.

For the full story on these incidents, and Gayle’s sentencing, visit The Reporter’s story here.


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Melissa S. Finley

Melissa is a 26-year veteran journalist who has worked for a wide variety of publications over her enjoyable career. A summa cum laude graduate of Penn State University’s College of Communications with a degree in journalism, Finley is a single mother to two teens, Seamus and Ash, her chi The Mighty Quinn, and the family’s two cats, Archimedes and Stinky. She enjoys bringing news to readers far and wide.