A dog rescue employee accused of cruelty to animals has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his co-defendant said in court Wednesday.
Tabitha Berube, 32, faces a count of willfully or maliciously torturing, maiming or mutilating a pet. John Johnstone, 38, faces multiple counts of that charge.
Johnstone was born in Scotland and has Scottish citizenship, according to police. During a brief hearing before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Rebecca Saxe, Berube — who was on Zoom — indicated that Johnstone was in ICE custody and would not be able to appear.
The Metropolitan Police Department said it confiscated 35 dogs from the Working Dogs of Nevada Rescue, 7331 W. Lake Mead Blvd., because of training that crossed the line into animal abuse.
Police said a witness told them Johnstone used a shock collar on dogs in training.
“John Johnstone is observed on video surveillance of the business far exceeding what is reasonable for training and Tabitha Berube is complicit, witnessing the incident without intervening,” police wrote in an arrest report.
In one instance, police said, Johnstone lifted a pitbull named Dottie into the air and swung her on a leash.
Saxe delayed hearings for both cases because Deputy District Attorney Tyler Christiansen said prosecutors are still evaluating the allegations to determine formal charges.
She set another hearing for June 24.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com.
