Defendant told police he ‘had to do it’ after animals bit him, his brother
Gregory T. McMahon, 32, of West Goshen Township, faces animal cruelty charges.
Less than two weeks after police responded to a West Goshen Township home for a report of an injured person, a 32-year-old resident has been arrested for animal cruelty.
Gregory T. McMahon was charged in connection with an incident on April 18 in the 200 block of McKenzie Drive, police said. When officers arrived, they learned that McMahon had stabbed his two American bulldogs with a kitchen knife after one or both of the dogs had bitten him, police said.
Both dogs received life-threatening injuries and were transported by the Chester County SPCA ambulance to its facility for treatment. “They are on the mend due to the quick response of the the Chester County SPCA and the extraordinary care provided by the West Chester Veterinary Medical Center,” Rich Britton, a spokesman for the Chester County SPCA, said Wednesday.
McMahon told police he “had to do it” and “God made him do it” after the dogs bit him and his brother, who received hospital treatment for his injuries, the criminal complaint said.
Although McMahon had some swelling and redness on his upper thigh, he repeatedly told police that he was not injured, the complaint said. He was involuntarily committed after a mental-health evaluation at Chester County Hospital by Valley Creek Crisis, the complaint said.
He was arraigned Wednesday and released on $15,000 unsecured bail; a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, police said.
