Man arrested after 2 dogs are found in city garbage bin

Police arrested a 68-year-old Kahaluu man and seized several of his dogs Saturday after police responding to a complaint found two dogs in a city garbage bin, one still alive.

The suspect, James Montgomery, who has a history of dog breeding in inhumane conditions, was arrested Saturday for investigation of second-degree animal cruelty, a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Police said officers responded about 8:15 a.m. and found two dogs in a city garbage bin. Officers also learned about 20 other dogs on the property, but needed a search warrant to go in.

Christina Kam, a Hawaiian Humane Society spokeswoman, said the live dog was taken to a private veterinary clinic.

A necropsy for the other dog was scheduled for this weekend.

After Montgomery’s arrest in the morning, authorities waited until about 7:30 p.m. for a detective to arrive with a search warrant to enter the dog kennel in the backyard and assess the condition of the remaining animals.

The Humane Society later said it seized about 33 dogs.

“I can’t believe someone would do that to animals,” one HPD officer said.

Mike Aki, who lives on the property, said the incident began Thursday when the man’s daughter, Lydia, called police to report the animals’ condition.

Police came, made a report and briefly spoke with Montgomery. On Friday evening, Aki heard “horrifying” animal sounds coming from the backyard, where Montgomery reportedly housed numerous dogs in an underground bunker dozens of feet long.

On Saturday morning, Aki was watching to see if Montgomery would throw the dogs away. He looked in a curbside trash can before dawn and saw a garbage bag that was moving from a dog breathing within. Inside was an orange colored lab less than a year old and the body of another dog.

He said the puppy stood up and was shaking.

He called police, who came and questioned Montgomery but released him without arrest. After police left, Lydia found another dead dog and she struggled with her father over the animal’s body, prompting Aki’s girlfriend to summon police to the property for a second time.

Police returned about 8:15 a.m. and arrested Montgomery.

A former tenant of the property, who only gave his middle name, Alan, said he went into the bunker in the backyard once about three to four years ago when Montgomery had unlocked the door and was working inside. He said Montgomery became angry and told him to get out. Alan said he only took a couple steps into the pitch-dark building and could see skinny dogs in kennels.

“Those dogs haven’t seen daylight since they were born … full-time animal torture,” Alan said. “It was hard to think anything because of the smell.”

Aki said Montgomery bred the animals to sell through third parties, but some dogs had vision problems because they were raised in darkness.

In 2005, the Humane Society seized 64 of Montgomery’s dogs after the state received complaints for years about odors coming from his property. Montgomery pleaded guilty to 55 counts of animal cruelty and was fined $5,500.

He completed a period for a deferred acceptance of a guilty plea, which allowed the conviction to be removed from his record. The Humane Society was ordered to return the animals after the case ended, allowing Montgomery to sell them off.