Mother Of Man Accused In Dog Abuse Case Charged With Intimidating Witness
WILKINSBURG (KDKA)- The mother of a man facing dog abuse charges has been charged with intimidating a witness in the case.
Police have charged 36-year-old Tia Matthews with witness intimidation, making terroristic threats and retaliation against a witness or victim.
Last week, 19-year-old Gerald Walker, Jr. was charged with inflicting torture, which is an animal abuse charge. Police say Walker nearly let his pit bull mix Effie starve to death.
The dog was seized from an apartment on Jan. 21 by Pittsburgh Police. She weighed just 14 pounds and was rushed to the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society. After surgery and nearly two weeks in the critical care unit, Effie is now recovering in a foster home.
Police say Matthews texted a witness in the case multiple times. The first text started off "First of all, I'm [expletive] you up on site." It went on to say, "since you're putting my name on statuses you better be ready for what you started."
According to the criminal complaint, the witness was a one-time friend of Matthews and had given her money for Effie's dog food and medication. The witness reportedly offered to find another home for Effie because she was concerned that the dog wasn't being cared for properly.
Police say the witness responded to Matthews and asked her not to text her and that she would call the police if she heard from her again.
Williams' response: "Call 'em [expletive], cause we ain't done [expletive]."
The witness once again asked Matthews to stop contacting her, saying she was sick to her stomach about what Matthews' son did to that sweet dog.
The witness received one final text from Matthews which read, "Say something about me and my son I guarantee you'll need to call the police."
Police say after the texts stopped, the witness received a voicemail from Matthews. Part of the message said, "I swear to God you better call the police and tell them I'm coming for that [expletive]."
After that voicemail, the witness immediately called 911.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Matthews and charges have been filed.
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