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Man Charged With Animal Cruelty

COPS: HE BEAT WOMAN, THEN BEAT HER PET PIG

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John Patrick Thrift has been charged with animal cruelty and battery.

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By Joe  Seelig | Highlands Today

Published: July 22, 2008

LORIDA - A Sebring man remained in Highlands County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail on Tuesday, after he was charged with animal cruelty and battery as a suspect in the beating of a Sebring woman and her pet pig.

John Patrick Thrift Sr., 47, of 4502 U.S. 98, was charged with assault with intent to threaten to do violence, battery, criminal mischief more than $1,000 and cruelty to animals causing pain and/or suffering or cruel death.

Sheriff's deputies were called Sunday to the 4800 block of U.S. 98, in Lorida, about a battery complaint. While en route, responding Deputy Ryan Walker learned the person alleged to be battering someone was Thrift, with whom he was familiar from past encounters.

Thrift reportedly was threatening to kill someone, 911 operators reported.

As Walker arrived on scene, he spotted Thrift walking down a dirt road and placed him under investigative detention, the report stated.

The victim, a 63-year-old woman, told Walker that Thrift had arrived at her ranch where she held an animal auction the night before and said he was intoxicated. Although he was disruptive, she said she was able to calm him down.

The next day, some of her workers reported that Thrift had returned and was "tearing up the place."

He reportedly destroyed a tent structure valued at $1,000 and numerous other smaller items such as a gate and garbage cans.

Thrift, who is 5-feet 10-inches tall and weighs 215 pounds, reportedly told the victim, who is 5-feet 4-inches tall and weighs 125, he was going to kill her and tackled her to the ground. He reportedly knocked her to the ground again when she tried to stop him from going over to her hog pens.

Thrift reportedly shoved her with a gate and knocked her to the ground. She was knocked unconscious. The report stated that he pulled down a wire gate and went after her pet hog named Wilbur.

The report stated that he beat the pig with the gate, and then went inside where he opened a knife and tried to stab the pig. He also kicked Wilbur with his "booted foot," the report stated. It was not clear if the pig had been stabbed, but Wilbur reportedly had large gouges to its fur and hide and the animal was bleeding.

The pig was trapped in its pen and could not get away, the report stated. The full extent of Wilbur's injuries was not known, the report stated.

The victim told deputies she had no idea what set Thrift off "into his fit of devastating rampage, anger and destruction, other than he was highly intoxicated," the report stated.

While in the back seat of the patrol vehicle, thrift told the deputy, "he guessed he had not kicked the hog hard enough if it was still alive," the report stated.

Joe Seelig can be reached at (863) 386-5834 or jseelig@highlandstoday.com

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