A 38-year-old man has been arrested after more than a dozen dogs were found living in “deplorable conditions” in Gila Bend, authorities said.

John D. Jackson was taken into custody after being on the run since April 5, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Jackson will initially be charged with felony cruel mistreatment, and additional charges are pending ongoing necropsy, veterinary and medical testing, an MCSO release stated.

MCSO deputies and animal crimes detectives responded to a property in the area of 299th Avenue in Gila Bend where they found “severe neglect involving more than a dozen dogs living in deplorable conditions,” officials said in the release. They found the homeowner was absent and apparently had been for weeks.

After obtaining a search warrant, detectives found Cane Corso puppies along with what appeared the dogs’ mother. She was dead. Other dogs were found in the yard. Two of the dogs were dead.

Overall, MCSO detectives seized 11 adult dogs, and they were turned over to the MCSO Animal Safe Haven. Three of the dead dogs were taken to a veterinarian for a necropsy to determine the cause of death.

 “I am outraged by the unimaginable suffering these animals endured, and I assure the public that we will take swift and decisive action to seek justice,” Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said.

“No animal should ever have to endure such neglect, and I pledge to relentlessly pursue those who commit these heinous acts.”

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