Salisbury Man Sentenced for Felony Animal Cruelty
A Salisbury man has been sentenced for felony animal cruelty. Nathaniel Ennels the second pleaded guilty to 1 count last month. Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Maryland, the Honorable Matthew Maciarello has sentenced Ennels to three years in prison with all but time served suspended. Ennels served 58 days of incarceration and 268 days of house arrest totaling 326 days time served. He was placed on three years of supervised probation and is to be prevented from owning, possessing or residing with animals for 10 years – a first in the state of Maryland.
The Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s office says that on October 9, 2021, the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint that Nathaniel Ennels had killed his girlfriend’s dog. During the course of the investigation, Deputy’s located a video recording of Ennels punching and kicking a four (4) year-old miniature schnauzer named Spanky. The dog was found deceased later that day. An animal control officer responded and took possession of Spanky and returned her to the Wicomico County Humane Society. After a necropsy, the cause of death was determined to be internal hemorrhaging of the liver and kidneys caused by blunt force trauma.
