AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Buda man accused of torturing and killing a dog in a downtown Austin hotel in 2021 was indicted by a Travis County grand jury on three counts of cruelty to a non-livestock animal, a third-degree felony, according to a Travis County release.
According to an arrest warrant from 2021, Tyler Hastings Berry, 27, “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly tortured an animal or in a cruel manner killed or caused serious or bodily injury to an animal.”
Berry is in custody at Travis County jail as of Wednesday morning. KXAN has reached out to Berry’s attorney for a statement and will update this story if more information becomes available.
Police said officers responded to the Doubletree Suites on West 15th Street after the cleaning crew found a dead pit bull mix in a hotel room’s bathroom in June 2021. Hotel staff members said Berry checked out from that room earlier in the day.
In a separate incident, officers said staff members at another hotel in central Austin found a “wet deceased puppy” in a room where Berry stayed. However, police explained in the arrest warrant why they pursued no charges in that incident.
“Due to a mix-up in the 311/911 system, no officer was ever dispatched,” the warrant stated, “and ultimately the body of the puppy was thrown away by hotel staff.”
Berry was linked to a third report of two dead puppies found at another hotel in northwest Austin, where he stayed in 2021. “An investigation and necropsies were conducted and those puppies died from a lack of medical care,” an arrest warrant read.
Berry was arrested March 14 by the Pflugerville Police Department and charged with cruelty to a non-livestock animal.
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