NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. » A Tampa Bay area man has been charged with beating four pit bull puppies to death with a shovel.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office reports that 21-year-old David Lee Thompson went to a New Port Richey mobile home Friday to help his friend move. The friend and his father began discussing what to do with the puppies since the son couldn’t afford to keep them. An arrest reports says the father suggested taking the puppies into the woods and killing them.

The son told deputies he “didn’t have the guts,” so Thompson reportedly killed the puppies. The three men buried the animals and scattered dead leaves on the site.

The friend’s stepmother learned about the puppies and contacted animal services.

Thompson was charged Saturday with animal cruelty. He was being held on $5,000 bail.

The other men weren’t charged.