HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A northeast Harris County man wanted for setting a pet dog on fire was arrested on Tuesday.
The dog, a 5-year-old pit bull named Truck, survived the incident on Nov. 16 but was burned on 60 percent of his body, according to the veterinarian who treated him.
"He was just burnt up, man. I just started crying, I just started crying," Jerome Lockett, the dog's owner, said.
Lockett said he had earlier gotten into an altercation with Edwin Jermain Stewart, 42, but he never figured Stewart would commit such an act.
Stewart was caught at the scene in the 12600 block of Crosby Lynchburg Road, according to a court document, but he was not arrested.
Stewart was arrested on Tuesday for setting the fire that injured the dog. He is charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals, a third-degree felony.
"The owner and Stewart had some kind of encounter and it angered (Stewart), and that's when he came over and set the complainant's dog house on fire," Harris County Fire Marshal's Office Chief Investigator Dean Hensley said.
The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office prepared the case against Stewart.
It is unclear if Truck was doused in gasoline, but his dog house and the surrounding area certainly were, according to the court document.
Truck was unable to escape the area because he was chained.
