Atlantic City, NJ, woman found guilty of animal cruelty

A jury has found an Atlantic City woman guilty of a third-degree animal cruelty charge.

The verdict against 35-year-old Monique Tolbert was handed down on Wednesday in Atlantic County.

According to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, on July 12th of last year, Tolbert called the Atlantic City Police Department to surrender her dog.

At the scene, cops found a dog named "Handsome" wandering the hallway of the apartment building where Tolbert lived. Police immediately observed how emaciated and dehydrated the canine was.

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Officers took custody of the dog and immediately transported Handsome to the Humane Society of Atlantic County for medical assessment and treatment. He was found to be severely malnourished, weighing less than half of the normal healthy weight of a dog similarly situated to him.

He was found to be very dehydrated and suffering from urine scalding and his hair and skin reflected that condition, according to officials, and he had multiple “pressure point” sores on different areas of his body.

Sentencing has been scheduled for September.