NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A Massachusetts man who beat his dog with a baseball bat after it ate his lunch was convicted of animal cruelty in his retrial in late July, prosecutors announced Monday.
Gregory Ostiguy, 57, of New Bedford, was convicted on one count of animal cruelty on July 28 following a bench trial and was sentenced to serve one year in the House of Correction, according to Bristol District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn.
Ostiguy, who previously served one year in prison for the same charge in 2021, was granted a new trial “after the court determined that he had not received a full explanation of his rights,” Quinn’s office said.
Dartmouth police responding to the area of Colonial and Slocum roads for reports of a man beating a dog with a wooden baseball bat on May 18, 2018, found Ostiguy in an “agitated state,” according to Quinn’s office.
Ostiguy is said to have told police that he was frustrated because his pit bull, “Harley,” had eaten his Whopper.
"Multiple witnesses reported to police that they witnessed the defendant strike the dog numerous times with a wooden baseball bat," Quinn‘s office noted in a news release.
A veterinarian later concluded that the dog suffered injuries caused by external trauma.
Ostiguy was also indicted in Fall River Superior Court, convicted, and sentenced to up to seven years in state prison for threatening two probation officers in New Bedford District Court after his initial cruelty conviction in 2021.
“This is outrageous behavior from a defendant who has a history of violent conduct. Fortunately, he was convicted by the court after a second trial was required,” Quinn said in a statement.
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