Members of local dog training business accused of neglecting animals, stealing $200k appear in court

DAYTON — Three people who have been accused of ripping off pet owners for training they didn’t deliver and abusing many of those animals made their first court appearance on Tuesday.

Jason Jones, 44, of Huber Heights; Tabatha Taverna, 47, of Dayton; and Jennifer Long, 39, of Huber Heights, face over 200 charges combined, including cruelty to companion animals.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Untrained, neglected; Local dog training business charged with stealing $200K, mistreating animals

As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, our crew was at the trio’s first court appearance on Tuesday. There, Jones claimed that he didn’t have enough money to hire a lawyer. That claim might be surprising to dozens of pet owners he’s accused of ripping off.

Randy Reed sent his two dogs for two different week training sessions at Dayton Dog Trainer, LLC.

“They had excrement on them. We have to take them to give them baths. They had kennel rash on their bellies,” Reed said.

Reed told News Center 7 that he believes other dog owners had it much worse than him.

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Miamisburg Police Sergeant Jeff Muncy previously said they conducted a lengthy investigation into Jones, Taverna, and Long. Police evidence led prosecutors to approve charges against all three and the judge had a warning for all three of them as their cases move forward.

“No contact with any of the alleged victims, as well as animals,” Judge Gerald Parker said.

The bonds in all three of these individual cases could be low enough that they could post bail and be released as their cases move forward. Currently, they all remain booked in the Montgomery County Jail.

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