Las Vegas, Nevada – After a lengthy investigation, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrested a man working at an animal shelter where he was allegedly abusing dogs. According to the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), John Young Cotter Johnstone, 38, was in the United States illegally and he is now facing multiple felony counts of animal cruelty.
In a press release, DHS described the abuse:
In videos provided to police, Johnstone repeatedly used shock collars on dogs, stepped on their leashes to pull their heads to the ground, and even used their leashes to swing dogs around in mid-air. He now faces four felony charges of willfully torturing, maiming, or mutilating animals.
Johnstone had overstayed his visa and is now being detained by ICE. Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said:
“This disgusting criminal tortured dogs at the shelter where he worked. Thanks to the cooperation of Clark County officials who honored the ICE detainer, this freak is in ICE custody. 7 of the 10 safest cities cooperate with ICE. We need more state and local politicians to work with us to keep criminals off our streets and out of our country.”
independent investigations and reporting.
32 Comments
Hang that evil dirt bag John Young Cotter Johnstone and make sure he suffers!!! That devil belongs in hell ASAP!!!
et le refuge qui l’employait n’a jamais rien vu ??? inacceptable inadmissible
qu’il crève cette ordure
I’m glad this S.O.B is in the hands of ICE!!! I HOPE THEY BEAT HIM TO A PULP DAILY!!! P.O.S!!!!!
Horrible!! The dogs are in mid-air before he slammed him to the ground!!
Why did it take so long to prosecute him??? Let him be jailed in the country that gives the harshest punishment!!!!
First, why was an illegal allowed to work at the shelter in the first place? – but, very glad that ICE was allowed to get involved. This cowardly punk is a cruel, heartless, loser that needs serious punishment and immediate deportation !!! – I’m not sure how long this went on before it was addressed, but I hope not long for the sake of the poor pups. This thug needs to be made a very clear deterrent example to other “would be criminals” of why not to do this – people may do stupid things, but when the punishment fits the crime, it’s amazing how fast they learn – anything less is just encouraging more (and even worse) – let laws & law enforcement stop this utter nonsense !!! NO EXCUSES !!!
Why do we protect the illegal people. It was a fact put in the story. So what?? I think people are trying to just hide that illegals are here. Many times they are not raised to respect animals…………it may be in their culture. I think it is strange that people are doting on the illegal factor. The real problem is he was abusing the animals at the shelter period. Let’s face on helping the animals and the hell they were going through.
Please prosecute!
I am so disappointed in you. The story is important and we need to know it happened and be able to do something about this and other, similar incidents. However, the phrase “here illegally” is inflammatory, unnecessary, and has the potential to do a great deal of damage to humans. As I am sure you know, one incident (or even made up incident) from a person in a marginalized group tends to paint that entire group as bad and it reinforces stereotypes and myths “they are eating the dogs”.
Yes, this incident is bad. This man must face punishment. But your headline is nearly as bad.
Snowflake, it is what it is. He is here illegally so, therefore, he is an illegal immigrant. All besides the fact since he is an animal abuser. He intentionally got a job st a shelter do he could abuse dogs. He is a monster – legal or illegal!
Seriously? You should be ashamed of yourself for comparing the people trying to get justice for these animals to the to the abuser because they correctly stated a fact regarding the perpetrator’s legal status in this country! Climb down off of your political high horse and remove your head from your behind so common sense doesn’t get rerouted to the nearest exit. The abuser of these poor animals could not protect themselves and fell victim to his abuse REPEATEDLY AND like it or not he should NEVER been at that shelter to abuse those animals because since he didn’t apply for citizenship he didn’t have proper documents to work here..stop making everything about the left or right political drama and look at the facts..he’s an ILLEGAL ALIEN who is violent and dangerous and you are a giant tool for saying the people trying to help are “just as bad” as the evil animal abuser because they stated a FACT..your political agenda has clouded your judgment and your moral boundaries because this is about the animals and getting justice for them but you over shadowed that to shame the petition over verbiage! Please just stop it. You are so wrong.
He is here ILLEGALY. What do you call someone that is here with no documents?? An ILLEGAL ALIEN. So NO, there is nothing wrong with the headline and there is nothing wrong with saying he is here ILLEGALY because YES, he is an ILLEGAL.
The immigration status is a documented fact in the case and relevant to the federal involvement, but we hear you and agree that it did not need to be in the headline. We removed those two words from the headline. We will be more mindful of that framing going forward. Thank you
for your opinion and pointing this out. Janelle Babington
Do the same to johnstone jail it’s ass for 20 years plus then add on extra years for being an illegal chuck it out when it’s in its 80’s back to its own country!!!!
Gee what a surprise, an illegal abusing animals!!!! A light bulb has gone on in this country!!!!! Now do something besides setting him back on the streets!!!
Do you honestly think only illegals are abusing animals or that most of them do? People, in America even, have been abusing animals since time began and nearly all abuse stories I see, and I see a lot in my profession, are from home grown abusers, Americans. Don’t ignore the facts just because you don’t like someone, that does not help to stop the abuse and ignores the enormity of the issue across all manner of humans.
I continue to be amazed at how easiIy peopIe are brainwashed, and how sIow many are to wake up to the truth.
I have spent the Iast 45 years screaming at the top of my Iungs (even had a website up for over 22 years), flooding sociaI media, putting out comments everywhere, that this same behavior (and much, much worse) is routineIy practiced by k9 handIers in the miIitary and paramiIitary. The handIers and “trainers” have, in fact, have kiIIed, and continue to kiII, far more of these dogs than any suspects or enemies. And I consider the ones who die earIy the Iucky ones.
I am aware that there is strategic censorship and a whoIe Iot of propaganda being performed to cover this up, but when I try to show peopIe the truth, they stiII prefer to beIieve this is not systemic, and each incident is just one bad dude aII on his own.
FoIks, the eviI is bigger, deeper, wider, than you can imagine, in this area, and in many others.
FUCKIN LOSER PSYCHOPATH
We don’t need to give these monsters jail time or fines. We need to remove them from society permanently. If we deport them they will just continue the abusing and killing somewhere else. One thing animal abusers have in common is that they have no moral compass, show no remorse, have no redeeming value whatsoever. They are simply a waste of oxygen and they are sick, sick, sick like a cancer that must be removed.
Send that POS back to the country he came from!! And if other people at that shelter allowed this to go on, then they should face charges toolll
He deserves the same treatment. Animal abuse seems to be rampant lately.
He deserves the same treatment. Animal abuse seems to be rampant lately.
Exactly right. These animal murdering sods need removing from our world. The ‘sikko’s’ will NEVER change as it is in their genes! No matter what colour they are termination is the only way these buggers will be stopped. And what will the useless Justice system do? Sweet F.A. as they are scared of any repercussions afterwards!
The only way to stop this torture and murder of innocent animals is ‘fired-up’ Vigilante and Animal activist groups. In other words street justice. Sorry to say this but is needed to stop these murdering pieces of crap DEAD in their tracks!! DEAD being the appropriate word. I am sure, like me, there are very many who feel the same. This has GOT to happen to stop these animal torturing assholes once and for all. And it would stop as these tossers are all cowards anyway. Eye for eye treatment is the ONLY way as most of us already know!!!
Shelter management should be disappointed in themselves that any of it happened to start with. Bad hiring and apparently even worse supervision that it didn’t end after one instance.
We have enough twisted animal abusers in this country. We didn’t need to import another one from God knows where.
Just put him in front of a firing squad and be done with it!
He was here illegally. How did he get a job in a shelter being an illegal? How can you vet a person who’s is not even from this country? He is a psychopath! The shelter and the management failed in their jobs to protect these innocent dogs and such be held accountable for their Part
If you will turn him over to some animal lovers I can assure it won’t happen again.
DEPORT THIS SCUM!!
Ship this bastard back to where he came from after he has served his time.Bad enough we have to put up with home grown animal predators , we don’t need imported pricks like this.If they come here and blatantly committ animal cruelty then they don’t deserve the privilege of living here.Send him home!!!
Same to him. Much more severe though.
why did it take a lengthy investigation ?one animal abused by this POS illegal immigrant is one animal too many .
JUST PLAIN EVIL & CRUEL COMPLETE ‘LOSER’ YET ANOTHER ONE THAT ONLY KNOWS HOW TO APPLY ABHORRENT ABUSE TO INNOCENT, LOVING, CARING DOG COMPANIONS
AND MAKE THEIR WHOLE ENTIRE LIVES A LIVING FEARFUL. MEMORY AND NOTHING ELSE!!
‘WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND ‘ NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!!
GOD OUR MAKER SEES ‘ALL’ THINGS!!!
ITS M-E-N OF ALL NATIONALITIES WITH THEIR TOXIC MASCULINITY FRAGILE FUCKING MASSIVE EGOS THAT ARE AT THE ROOT OF ALLLLLLL SOCIETIES PROBLEMS!! DEPORT THEM ALL LET US LIVE IN PEACE AND IF WOMEN SUFFER FROM TOXIC MASCULINITY DEPORT THEM AS WELL!!