Two months after Baltimore County police held a news conference (left, in a picture by The Sun's Algerina Perna) and painted a dog groomer as an organizer of dog fights, prosecutors quietly dropped abuse charges in the case.
The woman, 26-year-old Nicole Caruso, still faces drug and theft charges. But the case that damaged her reputation has now been thrown out. A county prosecutor told me that allegations that the dogs fought (based in part on a dug up yard, pictures of injured animals, a treadmill with paw prints, blood on an inside wall and a doggie medical lab) couldn't be supported.
Authorities said they believe the dogs were trained to be aggressive to guard a suspected marijuana den, which Caruso's friend's deny. Caruso and two others were charged with animal abuse, not dog fighting, but the implication from police charging docuemtns and the news conference was clear: police believed there was an organized dog fighting ring at the house on Lange Street in Dundalk.
Caruso's attorney told me the prosecutor's decision proves that county police made bloated claims at their news conference that unfairly tainted his client before trial. I called the county police on Tuesday and was told flatly, "No comment."