ESPN: Charges for Animal Cruelty Against Chiefs DT

As reported by Ryan Phillips of Patch.com, Chiefs defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs turned himself in to Tuscaloosa (Ala.) police on Thursday following the issuance of two arrest warrants for misdemeanor animal cruelty. According to a later story from ESPN, Buggs was freed on a $600 bond and must appear in court on June 13.

According to court filings, animal control discovered two dogs—a Rottweiler mix and a pitbull—at a house that Buggs rented. The animals were reportedly abandoned on a screened-in back porch, surrounded by excrement, with no access to food or water, and were described as “malnourished, emaciated, and neglected.” After growing more aggressive and not responding to heartworm medication, the pitbull was put to death at a nearby animal shelter. Meanwhile, the Rottweiler mix, which had a dangerously low weight of 52 pounds when it was brought to the shelter and tested positive for Parvo, is still being cared for by the shelter while a judge decides whether or not Buggs should be permitted to own it and other animals.

Witnesses claim that Buggs had just moved out of the house where the animals were discovered, and Phillips notes that the player’s lease was later canceled because of unpaid rent. According to Phillips, Buggs is also charged with additional offenses related to his claimed actions of shoving a police officer during his arrest in April and brandishing a gun at a woman outside of his place of business.

Trey Robinson, Buggs’ agent, claims that the reason behind Buggs’ legal troubles stems from his business, the Kings Hookah Lounge, which is located nearby. Robinson claimed that local police were involved in a “subversive campaign” to force Buggs to close the hookah lounge following the release of the animal cruelty warrants. She also claimed that the authorities had offered to drop the earlier charges, which had not been made public at first, in exchange for Buggs voluntarily turning in his business license (you can read the full statement here, thanks to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero).

Phillips, meanwhile, reports that Buggs does not have a business license at all, and that the lounge has been cited for operating without a license, overcrowding, and failure to pay city taxes. With respect to the dogs, Robinson said, “under no circumstance does Mr. Buggs condone the mistreatment of any animal. The dogs at issue did not belong to him, and he was unaware they remained at the property in question.”

Buggs, 27, was taken by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2019 draft and signed a one-year contract with the Lions before the 2022 season. He played in all 17 of Detroit’s games that season, including a career-high 13 starts. While his efforts won him a two-year contract for up to $6 million last March, he did not complete the first year of the agreement. He was waived in January and later joined the Chiefs’ taxi squad ahead of their playoff run. He did not see any postseason action, but the Chiefs signed him to a reserve/futures deal in February.