ESCANABA - A Green Bay man, also a former resident of this area, who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend's dog in an oven has been arrested in Harris.
According to Michigan State Police, Terry Kleiman, 31, was scheduled to participate in an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) cage fight Saturday at the Island Resort & Casino. Green Bay police notified Delta County law enforcement Kleiman would be at the casino and requested they make the arrest.
Troopers from Gladstone and Stephenson posts, deputies from Menominee Sheriffs' Department and officers from the Hannahville Tribal Police assisted in arresting Kleiman on the warrant from Green Bay.
Kleiman, a former resident of Bark River, has a past criminal record in Delta County, according to Delta County court records.
Green Bay investigators say Kleiman broke into his ex-girlfriend's Elmore Street apartment in November and put her 5-month-old Pekingese-poodle mix in the oven and turned the oven on.
The dog's owner said she arrived home and found her apartment filled with smoke and the dog's body in the oven. It remains unclear if the puppy was dead before the heat was turned on.
The man who accompanied Kleiman to the Elmore Street home provided the police with many of the details, but Kleiman also told at least two other people that he was at the apartment the night the dog died.
Kleiman has been extradited to Brown County, and made his initial appearance in Brown County intake court Monday on charges of burglary and mistreatment of animals. If convicted on both felonies, Kleiman faces 16 years of prison.
Kleiman is due back in court for a preliminary hearing April 17.
The case sparked outrage, and the Humane Society of the United States offered a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to a conviction.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report
