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New Bedford man convicted for beating his dog with a bat after it ate his lunch
Gregory Ostiguy of New Bedford was convicted of animal cruelty during his retrial in July.
A Massachusetts man who beat his dog with a baseball bat in 2018 after it ate his lunch was found guilty of animal cruelty last month during retrial of the case, officials announced Monday.
Gregory Ostiguy of New Bedford was convicted on July 28 and sentenced to serve one year in the House of Correction, the Bristol County District Attorney’s office said in a statement. Prosecutors said the sentence is being considered served already, since Ostiguy was previously convicted on the same charge in 2021 and served a sentence of one year.
He was granted a new bench trial after it was “determined that he had not received a full explanation of his rights from the Court in March of 2021,” the DA’s office said.
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Dartmouth police responded to the area of Colonial and Slocum roads in May 2018 for a report of a man standing outside, beating a dog with a baseball bat. Police found Ostiguy in “an agitated state” as he told the officers he was frustrated because his dog, a pit bull named Harley, had eaten his lunch.
Witnesses told police they’d witnessed Ostiguy strike the dog with the wooden baseball bat “numerous” times before, prosecutors said. The dog was taken to a veterinary hospital, where it was treated for a cheek laceration.
According to the DA’s office, after Ostiguy was convicted in 2021 for beating his dog, he was indicted in Fall River Superior Court for threatening two probation officers in New Bedford District Court. He was convicted and sentenced in that case to serve three-and-a-half to seven years in state prison.
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“This is outrageous behavior from a defendant who has a history of violent conduct,” Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn said in a statement on Monday. “Fortunately, he was convicted by the court after a second trial was required.”
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