SC man accused of burning puppy alive on Facebook set for release on bond
An Orangeburg County man facing multiple state and federal charges after police say he burned a puppy alive on Facebook will be released on bond.
Desmond Brown, 29, was granted a $100,000 surety bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Paige Gossett during a hearing at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Columbia Friday, where prosecutors argued he was a danger to the community and should remain behind bars.
In December 2024, Brown was arrested after deputies from the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office were notified that Brown had thrown a pit bull puppy into a fire while he and his girlfriend were engaging in a domestic dispute during a Facebook livestream, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Elle Kein.
Brown initially denied the animal abuse but later confessed after learning deputies possessed the Facebook live video, showing Brown tossing the dog into a fire and then repeatedly kicking the dog back into the flames as it attempted to escape, Kein told Gossett Friday.
“I’ve seen some extremely despicable and disgusting things in my career,” Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said in a December 2024 statement, “but this is one of the worst.”
As deputies searched Brown’s Norfield Drive property for the dog, they discovered it deceased in nearby woods, according to Kein. They also located two Dodge Chargers that were reported stolen.
Brown was charged with ill treatment of animals, two counts of domestic violence, two counts of possession of a stolen vehicle and one count of receiving stolen goods/chop shop, court records show.
He was released on bond pending the state’s charges, but was soon re-arrested following a federal indictment that charged him with one count of animal crushing and use of a fire to commit a felony. Together, those federal charges carry a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison, according to Kein.
Citing a long history of criminal behavior, including multiple domestic violence incidents and five convictions for assault and battery, Kein argued that Brown was a flight risk and a danger to the community.
“He has been on a reign of terror for the last ten years ... and now he’s burning puppies alive,” Kein told Gossett.
Brown’s attorney, however, argued it wasn’t fair that Kein was referencing crimes Brown had begun committing in 2014 when he was only 17 years.
“That ‘reign of terror’ took a six-year break,” federal Public Defender Jeremy Thompson said, arguing that before an arrest for domestic violence in August 2024, Brown hadn’t had any interactions with law enforcement since February 2018.
“All (of the offenses Kein referenced) occurred when Mr. Brown was 17, 18 or 19 years old,” Thompson said. “Generally, the older a person becomes, the less crime they commit.”
As a condition of his bond, Brown will be confined to house arrest and will be subject to the supervision of a third party custodian — often a family member or friend the court designates to supervise a defendant who has been released pending trial. He’s also restricted from owning or possessing any dogs, making contact with the woman he was accused of battering, and must undergo anger management and substance abuse counseling.
