T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Defense attorney Steven Stickles on Thursday informs the Belmont County Common Pleas Court that his client, Joseph Lee, is serving a six-month sentence in another state. Lee was scheduled to be arraigned locally for felony animal cruelty charges.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Joseph Lee will be facing a felony charge for animal cruelty on the allegation that he seriously injured a 4-month-old husky puppy, but he will not be arraigned until he serves a jail term in another state for a separate charge.

Belmont County Common Pleas Judge John Vavra expected to hear Lee’s initial plea during arraignments Thursday morning. However, he was informed by Lee’s attorney, Steven Stickles, that Lee had begun serving a six-month sentence in the Bergen County Jail, New Jersey.

Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan agreed, adding he had consulted with the Belmont County Hoof & Paw Humane Society about the potential complication.

“He did, in fact, have a pending case in New Jersey, and he expected to go to jail,” Flanagan said.

Flanagan said Lee, 29, had been scheduled to appear in Belmont County Northern Division Court on Wednesday, but the case was dismissed at that level and a grand jury returned a fifth-degree felony indictment for cruelty to a companion animal, as well as first-degree misdemeanor indictments.

Vavra issued a warrant for Lee’s arrest to help ensure he will appear for arraignment when possible.

The incident is alleged to have occurred Jan. 31 when Lee and the puppy were at an area motel. He is from Pittsburgh, according to court records.

Julie Larish, humane agent with humane organization Belmont County Hoof & Paw, said she believes a felony charge is appropriate. She said she believes there is evidence the puppy was abused for a prolonged period of time.

“I think the medical evidence stands for itself,” she said. “I think the charges fit the crime.”

She said the puppy — a female husky named Ghost — continues to recover.

“We’ve been giving her daily exercise so that we can get not only the bones but the muscles to heal. She’s sore at times, but otherwise she’s doing a lot better. She has a lot of psychological damage, and so we’re working on that also,” Larish said.

Flanagan did not comment on the evidence but confirmed the veterinarian who examined the puppy testified before the grand jury to the extent of the animal’s injuries.

“We presented the matter to the Belmont County grand jury and allowed them to decide whether they thought there was serious physical harm,” he said.

Flanagan said it was fairly rare for animal abuse cases in Belmont County to rise to the felony level.

“We have to show serious physical harm,” he said.

If convicted, Lee faces a maximum of one year in prison under “Goddard’s law,” or Ohio House Bill 60. It was passed by the General Assembly in 2015 and nicknamed for long-time Cleveland weatherman Dick Goddard, who advocated strengthening penalties for animal abuse.

The misdemeanor charges carry a maximum of six months behind bars, but the charges are not cumulative since they rose from the same alleged offense.

Flanagan said his office would work on scheduling Lee’s arraignment soon. He did not say whether the Belmont County case would wait until Lee had served out his six-month sentence in New Jersey.

“We are going to try to get him back as soon as possible, but we can’t obviously predict what’s going to happen relative to his charges in Bergen County, New Jersey,” Flangan said.

According to the Bergen County Jail, Lee is serving a sentence for aggravated assault.