Man in puppy beating is charged with assaulting woman

A West Valley man who was recently charged with brutally beating his ex-girlfriend's puppy is now being charged with assaulting the woman last year. An earlier charge alleging he beat the woman has been refiled although it was dismissed when the alleged victim failed to appear for court dates.

Anthony Spidle, 21, was charged with beating his girlfriend, and the charging document says he also left bruises on his mother during an argument in May 2008.

Prosecutors say Spidle was arguing with his mother and when the girlfriend attempted to leave he grabbed her by the hair, pulled her to the ground and choked her.

After the girlfriend was momentarily able to get away, the affidavit says, Spidle "grabbed (her) and began punching her in the face and head."

Spidle's case, which included two charges, a felony and a misdemeanor, was dismissed two months later when his girlfriend stopped working with prosecutors and failed to show up in court.

Now, after Spidle allegedly jumped on his girlfriend's puppy's head and threw it against the wall several times on March 21, the same felony assault charge from the May 2008 incident has been refiled with an additional $15,000 bail added to his current bail. He remains in jail.

Spidle has a roll call appearance on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the animal torture case. The hearing will be in the Matheson Courthouse, Room South 35, with Judge William Barrett officiating.

The Animal Advocacy Alliance of Utah has issued a plea to the public on behalf of the puppy, which survived the incident, to cover the cost of an MRI. Anyone who would like to donate can send an e-mail to the alliance at info@henryslaw.com or call 801-347-3345.

Contributing: Pat Reavy and Ethan Thomas

E-mail: jhancock@desnews.com