Matthew John Grabowsky, 26, pleaded not guilty Tuesday at his arraignment to one count of animal cruelty in the first degree.
A case setting hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14 at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.
His bail was set at $100,000. He was released Nov. 3.
Grabowsky’s co-defendant, Kevin Allen Richards, 24, was booked Nov. 7 and is still in custody at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle. Richards bail was set at $400,000.
He is being charged with seven counts including animal cruelty in the first-degree, unlawful imprisonment domestic violence, second-degree assault domestic violence, first-degree attempted extortion. He was also charged with three separate counts of domestic violence misdemeanor violation of a court order.
Richards arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 21 at the Regional Justice Center.
Animal Cruelty
A Renton police officer and an Animal Control officer first spoke with the reporting party on Sept. 15 when she called to report an animal cruelty incident that occurred in the city of Renton in May 2017.
The incident involved Grabowsky, Richards and the reporting party’s service dog.
Richards is the reporting party’s ex-boyfriend and she told officers in mid-May she gave him permission to take her dog to a rollerblade park. The charging documents stated she believed this would be a good idea and good exercise for her dog.
She said around mid-August she was contacted by a mutual friend who said there was a video of Grabowsky having sexual relations with her dog. She did not see this video until nearly a month later.
She did not give Richards permission to take her dog to Grabowsky’s house and did not grant them permission to engage in sexual activities, the documents stated.
The documents added the two men had organized, planned and coordinated the incident without the reporting party’s knowledge.
On Aug. 24 a no contact order was issued against Richards because the two men had attempted to coerce the woman into having sex with them for money, the documents stated.
She told officers that she confronted the two men on Sept. 24 about the video and both denied it happened.
After she showed them some of the video, they blamed her for the abuse to her dog, the documents stated. They claimed that if she had had sex with them, they wouldn’t have had to have sex with her dog.
Richards also allegedly threatened to kill her if she were to tell anyone about the incident.
She also told officers that another mutual friend had told her they witnessed Richards having a sexual interactions with her dog when they lived together in an apartment in Bellevue.
According to charging documents, Grabowsky also told her he has sex with dogs and has an attraction to them. He also told her he has sex with dogs to refrain from having sex with underage girls, the documents stated.
He also admitted to her that he has had sex with his own dog, the documents added.
Richards met the woman at a barbecue in 2016 and the two lived together through the summer of 2017. According to the charging documents she met Grabowsky through Richards, the two are friends, at a “furry” convention in Chicago.
A furry convention, the documents stated, is where people dress up as animals and socialize.
Grabowsky has no known criminal history.
Unlawful Imprisonment
While talking with officers, the reporting party told them about an incident on Aug. 24 when she confronted Richards about Grabowsky and her dog.
According to the charging documents, Richards grabbed her dog and threatened to throw him over the apartment balcony. The woman tried to hide in a room but Richards forced his way in.
He then reportedly threw her to the ground and began hitting her.
On another incident, the woman told officers, Richards had locked her in the kitchen pantry because she wouldn’t have sex with him. Richards left for work and a roommate had to let her out of the pantry.
In August 2017, Richards also allegedly locked her out in their balcony for about 30 minutes and smashed her face on the door frame causing a black eye and other injuries.
In March 2017, the woman was also locked onto a balcony for a few hours because she refused to have sex with Richards friend.
First Degree Extortion and Second Degree Assault
She told officers that on July 27 Richards was upset with her over money. He told her they didn’t have enough money to eat out and that he would bring her back food from a company picnic he was going to.
When he returned he brought her a pulled pork barbecue sandwich with a pineapple barbecue sauce. The charging documents stated he knew she was extremely allergic to pineapple but gave her the sandwich anyway.
He left for work and a few minutes after eating the sandwich, she began having an allergic reaction, the documents stated.
She searched the house for an EpiPen but couldn’t find one. She texted Richards to come home and take her to the hospital.
He reportedly returned home, holding one of her EpiPens and said, “Looking for this?”
Then he refused to give it to her until she made a trade with him for sex. She refused and continued searching their apartment for an EpiPen.
The documents stated she eventually found an expired one and administered it along with taking Benadryl. Richards eventually drove her to Overlake Medical Center where he left her at the emergency room.
Violating Court Orders
Since the no contact order was issued Aug. 24, Richards has allegedly violated it on many occasions.
The charging documents stated he violated the order on Aug. 25, Aug. 27, Aug. 28, Sept. 3, Sept. 6, Sept. 30 and Sept. 31 by sending her private messages through a messaging service called Telegraph.
