Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dazah Nicole Richards, 25, was arrested yesterday on a warrant for animal cruelty after neighbors reported that they believed she was abusing her dog.

A Gainesville Police Department officer investigated the complaints from people who live near Richards at Gainesville Place Apartments; one neighbor told the officer that Richards hit her dog with a broom on October 17, then threatened the dog, tapping it with the broom handle and pushing it upstairs to her apartment. The witness told the officer that he protested the treatment of the dog, saying it was unfair, and Richards told him she treated the dog as a child and was raised differently than him. The witness said he heard the dog whining and squealing after it went into Richards’ apartment. He said he went to her door to confront her about it, and she allegedly threatened to hit him with a belt. He gave the officer video that reportedly showed Richards following the dog with a belt in her hand.

Another neighbor told the officer that he has seen Richards using a belt on the dog while yelling at the dog.

A third neighbor said he heard the dog squealing on October 17 and heard the verbal argument between Richards and the first neighbor. He said he has heard the dog yelping and whining for about two months and said the dog has lived with Richards since February.

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A fourth neighbor said he moved in three months ago and hears a dog yelping every day. He said the noises sound like the dog is in distress and is being abused.

A fifth neighbor said she first heard the dog being abused around March and added, “It sounded like when you step on a dog by accident but it was over and over again.” She said she has seen Richards following the dog with a belt while cursing, but she has not personally seen Richards abusing the dog.

A sixth neighbor said she first heard the dog being abused in March and that she has seen Richards hit the dog with a belt, a shoe, and her hands.

Richards has no criminal convictions but has been arrested for domestic battery and had a sworn complaint filed in a second domestic battery case; she was also arrested for child abuse in 2021. All the charges were dropped. Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $25,000 with the condition that Richards have no contact with animals.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.