Dog abuser accused of choking girlfriend

SHIRLEY – A Greenville man whose abuse of a dog earlier this year was caught on tape was charged Friday with assault after he allegedly choked his girlfriend.

Justin McIver, 29, was charged with assault, violation of a protection order, and violation of bail, according to investigator Allen Emerson of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department.

An Abbot property owner called police about 3 p.m. Friday to report that a woman inside a vehicle parked in his yard was being choked by a man. The vehicle left before Emerson arrived, but the property owner provided Emerson with a description of the vehicle, the license plate number, and its route.

Emerson said he stopped the vehicle on Route 15 in Shirley.

The woman had a hand injury but it was unknown whether she sought medical attention, Emerson said.

In February, a neighbor videotaped McIver as he tormented his girlfriend’s dog, which was chained outside. The video showed McIver stepping on the chain to force the dog to the ground and stepping close to the dog’s throat, causing it breathing problems, according to a police report. The report also said that when the dog was lying on its back with its legs in the air, McIver twisted its legs and later struck the dog on the head twice with a metal dish.

McIver pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals and was sentenced in that earlier case.

McIver was being held Friday at the Piscataquis County Jail without bail on the latest charges. He is expected to make his initial court appearance Monday in 13th District Court in Dover-Foxcroft.

Assisting the sheriff’s department was Greenville police Chief Duane Alexander.