ELYRIA— A second man has been charged in connection with the Dec. 29 incident at Cascade Park where a dog was allegedly thrown off of a cliff.
Joshua Novak, 24, of Elyria, was served with the charges of abandoning animals, cruelty to companion animals, obstructing official business and obstructing justice on Tuesday, while jailed for another offense.
Rangers say a witness at the scene saw Novak helping Christopher Taylor, 21, also of Elyria. Taylor is the man Lorain County Metro Parks rangers believe threw the dog off of the cliff, twice.
Christopher Taylor
Taylor was charged with abandoning animals and cruelty to companion animals. His arraignment is schedule for Jan. 14.
Jim Ziemnik, director of Lorain County Metro Parks, says Novak lied when questioned about what he and Taylor were doing in the park.
Witnesses say Novak was holding a dog chain and appeared to be hiding it for Taylor. The two men told rangers they were walking through the park as a short cut on their way home.
The dog, which witnesses say landed in or near Black River, has not been found. Ziemnik says an anonymous caller told Lorain County Metro Parks they might have seen a dog, but a dog was not found when rangers searched the area.
Ziemnik says Black River can be a difficult area to search, and evidence has been known to be washed away in the past.
Novak is now scheduled for a first court appearance at 10 a.m. Jan. 14.
The Nitro Foundation, an Ohio-wide animal rights organization, has planned a rally at the Elyria Municipal Courthouse at 9 a.m. the same day.
The group wants to raise awareness for the incident and encourage law enforcement to give the men allegedly involved the maximum possible sentences if they are convicted.
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