Man Wanted In Attempted Dog Drowning Turns Himself In

LONG BRANCH, NJ — The man wanted for allegedly leaving a pit bull puppy to drown in a cage in the Shrewsbury River off Highlands last week turned himself in early Tuesday morning.

Aaron D. Davis, 36, of Long Branch, surrendered to authorities Tuesday morning in connection with the attempted drowning of "River," a dog found last week in a cage on a bulkhead in Highlands, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Late on Friday afternoon, Aug. 3, the county prosecutor issued a warrant for Davis' arrest in connection with the heinous crime that stunned Momouth County.

Davis has been charged with third-degree Animal Cruelty – Attempting to Cause Death or Serious Bodily Injury to an Animal and disorderly persons offenses of Abandonment of a Domestic Animal, Failure to Provide Necessary Care and Failure to Provide Proper Shelter.

Police determined that Davis had abandoned the caged dog near the water’s edge in an attempt to drown the animal. His exact reasoning for doing so has not been released by the county prosecutor's office.

At approximately 6:15 a.m. last Tuesday, July 31, a Highlands resident, who was walking her dog in the area of Veterans Memorial Park on Bay Avenue, observed something on the water side of the rock bulkhead. As the passerby investigated, she spotted a black wire cage with a small dog cowering inside the cage. The cage was on a small portion of sand between the bulkhead and the water. The tide was coming in and the water had reached the cage.

The woman, Jennifer Vaz, climbed over the wall and rescued the animal. The dog, a pitbull-mixed breed named “River” by the rescuer, was brought to the Highlands Police Department who then contacted Highlands Animal Control. When Animal Control officers responded to the site of the canine’s rescue, they found the cage almost submerged by the rising tide.

"He would have died a slow, painful death," Vaz later recalled to Patch when we asked her about the incident. "When I found him the water was up to his paws and he was shivering. When I first tried to get him out of his cage, he wouldn't even come out. He just backed into a corner of the cage and looked so scared and confused."

In fact, it was Molly's Boxer who really saved his life, she said. Molly heard the puppy softly crying and dragged Vaz down to the water's edge. It was also Molly who put her head into the cage, licked the pit bull and got him to come up.

His arrest was the culmination of a joint investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office SPCA Division and Highlands and Long Branch police.

If convicted of the third degree crime of Animal Cruelty, Davis faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in a New Jersey state prison. On each disorderly persons offense, he faces a separate 6-month period of incarceration.

Davis turned himself in to authorities early Tuesday morning and is currently lodged at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution. His first appearance, where Davis will formally be presented with the charges against him, is scheduled for Wednesday, August 8 in Monmouth County Superior Court.

River is in good health and is currently being fostered by Vaz.

Ongoing Patch reporting: Man Sought In Attempted Dog Drowning Still At Large

Highlands Woman Recalls Finding Puppy Left In Cage To Die

Dog In A Cage Trapped On Beach As Tide Rose In Highlands

Aug. 7 Rally In Highlands, NJ For Dog Left In Cage To Drown