A Goodyear man and former Arizona State University football player was arrested Saturday on suspicion of animal cruelty after being accused of breaking the family dog's neck and placing him in a smoker, according to court documents.
Patrick Zane Thompson, 42, was booked on suspicion of two felony and four misdemeanor counts related to the death of the family's white poodle, documents said.
Thompson played right guard for ASU football in 1996, when the team posted an 11-1 record and lost the Rose Bowl to Ohio State University. He is also the owner of the Raging Cajun Smoking Barbecue catering company.
Officers were called to a house in the 16000 block of West Mohave Street in Goodyear and found Thompson lying on the sidewalk with a self-inflicted gash in his arm, according to police documents.
Thompson earlier had burned a shirt that belonged to his 17-year-old daughter in the industrial-size smoker in a trailer in his side yard, saying he didn't like the shirt because he believed it had to do with the devil.
Family members told police he had begun to act erratically, saying in front of his wife and four children that he had to make a sacrifice of a male, either himself, his 6-year-old son or the family dog.
Thompson grabbed the dog as the children and his wife pleaded with him to stop, but he broke the dog's neck, police said. The family fled and called police.
Officers found the dog dead in the smoker. Thompson told officers he had smoked marijuana earlier in the day and began to have an "episode," according to court documents.
After he burned the shirt, he said he began to have a vision that something bad was going to happen to his family and that "the Lord" was going to kill him for what he had done. From his readings of the Bible, he said, he knew he had to make a male sacrifice. He selected the dog instead of himself or his son, he told officers.
Thompson was booked into a Maricopa County jail on a $20,000 bond. His next court appearance was set for May 23.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...man-sacrificed-family-poodle-smoker/84442006/
Patrick Zane Thompson, 42, was booked on suspicion of two felony and four misdemeanor counts related to the death of the family's white poodle, documents said.
Thompson played right guard for ASU football in 1996, when the team posted an 11-1 record and lost the Rose Bowl to Ohio State University. He is also the owner of the Raging Cajun Smoking Barbecue catering company.
Officers were called to a house in the 16000 block of West Mohave Street in Goodyear and found Thompson lying on the sidewalk with a self-inflicted gash in his arm, according to police documents.
Thompson earlier had burned a shirt that belonged to his 17-year-old daughter in the industrial-size smoker in a trailer in his side yard, saying he didn't like the shirt because he believed it had to do with the devil.
Family members told police he had begun to act erratically, saying in front of his wife and four children that he had to make a sacrifice of a male, either himself, his 6-year-old son or the family dog.
Thompson grabbed the dog as the children and his wife pleaded with him to stop, but he broke the dog's neck, police said. The family fled and called police.
Officers found the dog dead in the smoker. Thompson told officers he had smoked marijuana earlier in the day and began to have an "episode," according to court documents.
After he burned the shirt, he said he began to have a vision that something bad was going to happen to his family and that "the Lord" was going to kill him for what he had done. From his readings of the Bible, he said, he knew he had to make a male sacrifice. He selected the dog instead of himself or his son, he told officers.
Thompson was booked into a Maricopa County jail on a $20,000 bond. His next court appearance was set for May 23.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...man-sacrificed-family-poodle-smoker/84442006/
