PRESQUE ISLE – Three teens who allegedly wanted to kill something “not human” are being held at a state youth center and under house arrest after they allegedly cut, stabbed and beat to death a dog that they stole from the yard of a local resident.

The three Presque Isle boys, ages 17, 17 and 16, were arrested late last week for aggravated animal cruelty and theft. Two of the teens were on juvenile probation from the Mountain View Juvenile Correction Facility in Charleston for prior felony crimes.

Police did not release information on the case until this week, and they are not releasing the teens’ identities because of their ages.

“We get complaints of abuse to animals, but not like this,” Police Chief Naldo Gagnon said Tuesday. As he reviewed the case, he shook his head and looked down at his hands. “It’s quite a horrific crime.”

The trio allegedly entered a back yard near the city’s bike path late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning and took the dog with the intent to kill it, Presque Isle Detective Wayne Selfridge said in a press release. Selfridge was unavailable Tuesday for comment.

The aggravated charge is because of the “depraved indifference that the youths displayed in how they slaughtered the dog,” Selfridge said.

The 4-year-old female mixed breed was trusting of humans and offered no resistance, even during the ensuing assault, the detective said.

The teens allegedly tied the dog’s head close to a fallen tree and took turns impaling the animal.

Police discounted local rumors that the killing was part of a ritualistic satanic sacrifice; officials said the dog was not hanged, garroted or otherwise mutilated.

The executed animal was left in the bike path area across from Presque Isle High School and Zippel Elementary School at a place where adolescents hang out before school. Police believe the dead animal was placed there purposely so students would see it in the morning before school. Police added that the juveniles who committed the crimes were not SAD 1 pupils.

The dog’s remains were found Thursday morning by a man who was walking his dog along the bike path. When police arrived at what they thought was an accidental or natural death, they discovered wounds that appeared to be human-inflicted injuries, Selfridge said.

Officials took the dog to a local veterinarian who conducted a necropsy. The multiple cut, stab and slicing wounds, coupled with signs of blunt striking trauma, indicated that the death the dog suffered was criminally inflicted, the detective said.

Officials are not sure how long the dog suffered before it died.

Through an investigation by Sgt. Mark Barnes, Selfridge and state animal welfare agent Jennifer Howlett, and with additional help from Officer Roger Ellis, officials were able to piece together the events surrounding the dog’s death.

At about 1:45 a.m. June 2, Presque Isle dispatch received a complaint of a dog howling in a residential area. An officer checked the residence, and the dog owner said she would bring her dog inside for the night. She also told the officer that her other dog broke free from its chain and she didn’t know where it was. She asked that if police located her dog that they return it. Police checked the area but did not find the dog.

At about 2:50 a.m., in a seemingly unrelated incident, a woman called the dispatch to report that a male had been by her residence and she didn’t want him there. She suspected that he had been drinking and was underage.

At about 3:15 a.m., Officer Roger Ellis located two young men walking near the woman’s residence. He warned them not to contact the woman, and then, smelling an odor of alcohol on their breath, he took them to the Police Department for a breathalyzer test.

After the test was completed, Ellis summoned the teens for illegal possession and consumption of alcohol by a minor. Police contacted the juvenile intake worker, who arranged to speak with the teens the next day. Officials set a court date for the teens for Aug. 4. The teens were released to their fathers, but not before Ellis mentally noted that one of the teens had a significant amount of blood on one of his hands.

On Thursday after police learned about the dog slaying, Ellis “put two and two together” and the teens immediately became suspects, Chief Gagnon said.

The police worked in coordination with state authorities, treating the case as if it were a human fatality. They conducted crime scene analysis, necropsy of the dog, obtained a search warrant for clothing and DNA and interviewed possible witnesses and the three suspects, Selfridge said.

The motive for the crime was cited as “wanting to kill something not human,” the detective said.

The two teens on juvenile probation have been ordered held for future confinement until their court appearance. The third teen was released to a family guardian and was placed under house arrest. Gagnon said a juvenile intake worker will determine their court dates.

Their theft charge is a misdemeanor; the aggravated animal cruelty is a Class C felony. Gagnon said there is talk of charging the teens as adults for the crimes because of their criminal histories. The chief said the three do not have a criminal history of cruelty to animals.

Police are not releasing the dog owner’s identity at her request. She told police that she and her young child considered their pet to be a member of the family.

“They took something precious,” she said.