Police: Two Arrested After Animal Abuse Complaint Also Turns Up Guns and Drugs

(KNSI) — Two people from Waite Park were arrested on February 3rd after police said they found drugs and guns following complaints from neighbors that it sounded like someone was abusing dogs inside their apartment.

According to a criminal complaint, police were called to an apartment in Waite Park on January 31st after several residents said they could hear what sounded like someone was abusing their dogs. Several people said they could hear someone yelling, thuds, yelping, and shrieking in one of the units. Neighbors took audio and video recordings and turned them over to the police.

The criminal complaint said police were called to the same unit on December 15th on a welfare check of a pit bull and a husky mix based on reports that the dogs were being abused. Police said they contacted 19-year-old Sayveon Amantay Collins and 21-year-old Ali Samifahal Ibrahim and found no visible signs of abuse. They said the dogs were outgoing and excited to see the officers.

When the police returned after the noise complaints on January 31st, investigators say the dogs didn’t have any visible signs of abuse, but “their demeanor had changed dramatically. Specifically, the husky had its tail between its legs, was skittish, standoffish and appeared to be fearful of officers’ movements.”

February 3rd, a search warrant was executed at the unit for evidence of animal abuse and to seize the dogs for evaluation by a veterinarian. They said the husky that allegedly belonged to Collins was “very squeamish and nervous,” but the pitbull was friendly and pleasant.

Police say they told Collins and Ibrahim to sit on chairs in the dining room area. Ibrahim repeatedly asked for permission to sit on the couch. Officers said they looked under the couch and pulled out an AR-15 with no make, model, or serial number on it and a black semi-automatic Jericho 941, along with a loaded magazine for a .9mm handgun and additional parts for the AR-15.

Upon further searching the apartment, police said they smelled marijuana coming from Collins’s bedroom and found a bent, dented dog kennel. Officers also said they found a small clear Ziploc baggie containing approximately three grams of marijuana, a loaded Beretta .9mm handgun with 15 rounds in the magazine, and an extended magazine with seven silver hollowpoint bullets and eight full metal jacket bullets.

Ibrahim was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm with no serial number. Both are felonies. A search of court records shows Ibrahim has a prior conviction in Ramsey County of second-degree riot while armed with a dangerous weapon.

Collins was charged with being a felon in possession, possessing a firearm with no serial number, and misdemeanor mistreatment of animals. He is reportedly on probation for an extended juvenile jurisdiction case involving a shooting in Ramsey County.

Police say the investigation is ongoing.

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