FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A suspect is in custody after allegedly beheading his dog, leaving it on the front porch and then barricading himself inside.
The standoff started when officers with the Animal Services Division were executing a search warrant for aggravated animal cruelty at the home on Illinois Avenue NW off Joseph E. Boone Blvd. NW.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
At 2:30 p.m., officers went to the home and found a beheaded dog with a machete nearby.
When they came back with a search warrant, Jalen Ward barricaded himself in the home.
After about three hours, officers were able to arrest Wade.
Neighbors told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna that Wade and his animals seemed normal until Wednesday afternoon.
“It was a lot of police out here today, more police than I’ve ever seen,” one neighbor said.
Those neighbors say they called Wade to tell him what was happening and he claimed to be in Buckhead.
“The whole time he was barricaded in the house,” they said.
No officers or the suspect in the home were hurt.
Wade will be charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, obstruction and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group




