Man said ‘witches’ told him to throw dog from SC bridge: police

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A man was arrested Monday for throwing a dog twice from a bridge in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. While investigating reports of animal cruelty in the Fingerville area, officers say they found a man holding a dog in a chokehold.

Officers identified the man as 43 year-old Shannon Lee Cantrell.

One year-old brown-and-white pitbull-type dog (Courtesy Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office)

Cantrell told officers that “witches” told him to throw his one-year-old dog from the bridge.

The dog was thrown twice at a distance measured 34-feet from the bridge to the ground, according to investigators.

Cantrell was charged with ill-treatment of animals and booked into the Spartanburg County Detention Center by the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.

Cantrell released ownership of his dog to Spartanburg County.

Deputies said the animal did not show any visible signs of injury but was clearly shaken by the incident.

The dog was transported to the Greenville County Animal Care for assessment.