Two people with ties to Longview are facing multiple counts of animal neglect charges in Rainier after police say a malnourished dog was found in an abandoned van near Deli Store and More.
An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday by Columbia County prosecutors for Nathaniel Trevor Powell, 47, of St. Helens, and Kassandra Susan Sperry, 42, of Longview. Each is facing three class B misdemeanor charges of second-degree animal neglect.
Despite his home being listed as St. Helens, court records show Powell was sent a recent court letter to a Longview address.
A Rainier police officer on patrol Sept. 24 reports discovering a red Pontiac Montana minivan parked at an unusual angle around 3:26 p.m. in a lot in the 7500 block of Rock Crest Street, near the Deli Store and More.
Inside, he saw a white medium-sized dog, tethered to the driver's seat by a metal cable and unable to move due to the number of times the cable was wrapped around the seat, court records show.
The officer reports the dog was malnourished because he could see the pet's ribs. The dog quickly devoured food and relieved itself once out of the vehicle, the report continues, and the inside of the minivan smelled like feces.
A Deli Store and More employee told authorities the van had been parked there for two days, and that a man, woman and child were at the vehicle when it was abandoned.
On Oct. 1, Rainier police reportedly came in contact with the same red Pontiac Montana minivan, this time with Powell, who told police he owned the vehicle and dog.
He said the vehicle had broken down, and he left the dog inside the car to be picked up by his sister-in-law, a police report states.
He said he left with his family, without the dog, because the location they were heading to did not allow animals.
The officer then contacted Sperry, Powell's wife, who said she also had reached out to the person set to retrieve the dog.
Sperry gave police that person's number, but when the officer called, there was no answer, according to police.
