Man charged with macing couple in dispute over dog at Frazer pet shop

Frazer police arrested a man for allegedly pulling a knife on his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend, then spraying them with mace to get a dog away from them at a pet shop.

James William Dezort III, 35, of the 500 block of Clyde Street in New Kensington was charged with two counts each of felony aggravated assault and robbery along with eight other charges, including reckless endangerment, simple assault, possessing an instrument of crime, harassment and disorderly conduct.

He was released from custody after posting an unsecured bond and faces a preliminary hearing Dec. 5 before District Judge David Sosovicka.

Police wrote in a criminal complaint that officers were dispatched to the PetSmart store on Village Drive in the Pittsburgh Mills complex at 9:30 a.m. Saturday for a fight over dog ownership in which a knife was displayed.

A witness told police that he came outside the store when he noticed a fight break out and saw a “large” man attacking a couple. The witness managed to get Dezort’s pocketknife and truck keys away from him and turned them over to police, the complaint said.

A second witness told police she was at the nearby Lowe’s store when she saw a man in a white pickup “flying up by PetSmart” and then get out and start yelling at a couple, the complaint said. The pet store is next door to the home improvement center, with entrances about 1,000 feet apart.

The witness told police she saw the man from the truck push the woman with both hands before spraying the couple with mace, the complaint said.

Dezort told police that he bought the dog when he and the woman were still dating and he was trying to get it back from her, but she recently stopped answering his phone calls and text messages.

Dezort told police he reported the issue to Plum and New Kensington police, who told him it was a civil matter. The Frazer officer also told Dezort such cases are handled in civil court, according to the complaint.

According to his arrest papers, Dezort told police he sprayed the chemical irritant at the couple because they “attacked him and he felt threatened.”

The couple was treated by EMS before being questioned separately by police, the complaint said.

Both gave the same account as the witnesses, police said.

The man said they were walking into the pet store with the dog for a veterinary appointment when Dezort pulled up in the truck, got out with a knife and pointed it at the woman.

He said Dezort resheathed the knife before pushing the woman. They were sprayed, he said, after the woman pushed Dezort back, the complaint said.