FORT WORTH, Texas — An Arlington dog trainer tied to three separate pet deaths will receive no jail time after pleading guilty to one count of animal cruelty Tuesday morning in a Tarrant County courtroom.
Alan Brown was initially indicted on three third-degree felony counts of animal cruelty in connection to those deaths. Still, two of the charges were waived as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, as shown in correspondence from the district attorney's office.
The one charge Brown pleaded to was lowered to a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a punishment of up to 1 year in county jail and a $4,000 fine. Brown received two years of community supervision under a deferred adjudication agreement instead.
He will not be allowed to board any dogs but will be allowed to train them under his business 'K-9 Direction' while he's under community supervision.
He will also be subject to drug and alcohol testing, per court records, and complete 80 hours of community service. He also must report to the Community Supervision and Corrections Department of Tarrant County monthly and obey all of their rules and regulations per paperwork from the court.
WFAA spoke with Brown on the phone following Tuesday's court hearing, but he responded with 'no comment.'
Emeka and Masera Ndukwe weren't pleased with the result. Their animal cruelty case involving the death of their dog 'Brooklyn' was the only one that stuck in Brown's case.
They told WFAA they felt the DA's office settled at the last minute and that none of this would show up on Brown's criminal record, providing he completes community supervision without issues.
"This just leaves a bad taste in our mouths," Emeka Ndukwe said. "He gets to walk free--can work with dogs still, and who's to say he won't do this again?" Masera Ndukwe said.
"Nothing really changes for him at all, but for us, we have to live with his actions daily," Emeka Ndukwe added. "He got to plead out without our involvement, and it's a shock to us. We will focus our energy on making sure people know who he is, what he did to us, and what he's capable of."
Background
Brooklyn was a Bernadoodle who died in Alan Brown's care while the Ndukewes were vacationing overseas. The couple's story went viral online last year, and three other pet owners who had dogs die in Brown's care dating back to 2021 came forward.
The Ndukwes said they dropped off Brooklyn with Alan Brown in late June for several weeks while they honeymooned in Europe. The Ndukwes told WFAA they had a friend arrange to pick Brooklyn up when Alan Brown failed to update them on how he was doing.
But while arrangements were being made, Alan Brown told the Ndukwes that Brooklyn had died in her kennel while in his van. A report from a vet clinic said that Brooklyn was in Alan Brown's van with the A/C going in the heat while he was teaching training classes. The report further stated that the dog was unresponsive when Alan Brown returned to check on her.
The Ndukwes said the clinic kept Brooklyn's remains after Alan Brown tried reviving her. But then the Ndukwes said Alan Brown eventually admitted that Brooklyn had been dead for several days -- possibly as many as seven -- when they tried pulling her out of K-9 Direction.
In a text message provided to WFAA, Alan Brown replied to the Ndukwes that he didn't reach out sooner to "…preserve as much of your honeymoon & Paris memories as possible for future anniversaries." The couple said they were furious when they found out and returned to the U.S. immediately. Because Alan Brown didn't truthfully inform them of Brooklyn's sudden death, the couple said, they could not order a necropsy in time to determine a cause of death.
A grand jury found merit in the Ndukwe's claims and added that Alan Brown failed to communicate with them for them to request a necropsy to determine how Brooklyn died. That line was filed under the evidence tampering accusations in the indictment that were ultimately waived.
Charge against APD officer dropped
Brown's wife, Stacie, was fired by the Arlington Police Department earlier this year. She had been a longtime officer for 18 years and was charged with retaliation regarding her husband's case.
Her charge, also a third-degree felony, was dropped by prosecutors the same day that Brown accepted his plea deal.
A department spokesperson said Brown can protest her firing to regain her job.
Stacie Brown's retaliation charge stems from a police report she filed against the Ndukwes following their post about Brooklyn that went viral that included Brown's name, her relationship to Alan Brown, their address where he operated K-9 Direction and Stacie Brown's badge number.
The post read as a warning not to use Alan Brown's business.
A report filed by Stacie Brown said that the Ndukwes posted this with the intent to harm or threaten Brown on account of her service or status as a public servant. Alan and Stacie Brown later dropped the case.
Stacie Brown's indictment read that she "did intentionally or knowingly harm or threaten to harm (the Ndukwes) by an unlawful act, namely making a false police report to a peace officer, and the unlawful act was committed in retaliation for or on account of the status of Emeka Ndukwe as a person who has reported the occurrence of a crime."