Rock Hill men accused of throwing firecrackers at chained dogs

Two men in Rock Hill, S.C., are accused of torturing three chained dogs by throwing dozens of lit firecrackers at them.

Police said an eight-minute video on one of the suspect’s cellphones shows the firecrackers being thrown so they would explode near each dog on Friday. The dogs were in a backyard in the 300 block of State Street.

“The dogs were cowering and doing their best to get away from the firecrackers,” police said in a news release Wednesday.

At one point, one of the dogs went into its shelter, where it was stuck as firecrackers were then thrown inside, police said.

Police on Tuesday arrested Tevin Danard Anderson, 25, on three counts of ill treatment of animals (torture) and a charge of possession of crack cocaine. Police on Wednesday arrested Deangelo Raheem Roseboro, 21, on three similar counts of ill treatment of animals (torture). Roseboro will have a bond hearing Thursday morning, according to a release from the Rock Hill Police Department.

Roseboro was previously charged as an accessory to murder in the November 2014 death of Chester city councilman Odell Williams.

Police said they could not determine from the video whether any of the firecrackers injured the dogs. But police said the explosives placed the dogs “in imminent danger of serious injuries and burns. The explosives were certainly tormenting the dogs mentally.”

Anderson told police he was caring for the dogs for someone who was in prison.

York County Animal Control officers seized the dogs. All three appeared to have injuries and were being taken to a veterinarian for evaluations, police said.

Anyone with information on Roseboro’s whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 877-409-4321.

The York County, S.C., Solicitor’s Office decided against releasing the video to the media “due to it still being an active and ongoing criminal investigation,” police said.

In the Williams case, Roseboro and two co-defendants testified for prosecutors against another defendant, Christopher Moore, the (Rock Hill) Herald reported. Moore was sentenced to life in prison without parole last week after a jury found him guilty of murder and weapons charges.

Prosecutors have yet to say when the cases against Roseboro and the other defendants in the killing of Williams will be tried.

This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Rock Hill men accused of throwing firecrackers at chained dogs."