Man Claims Self-Defense in Dog Kennel Stabbing

A Hudson man is indicted on aggravated assault charges after allegedly stabbing another man in what was originally reported as a dog cage. Officials now say it was a fenced-off kennel area.

25-year-old Jesse Merritt is being held on $10,000 bail for the assault charge that his lawyer claims was self-defense. The attorney says Merritt didn't have a knife when he entered the kennel with Alan Hartley. No knife has been recovered but Hartley was stabbed in the neck.

According to an affadavit, Merritt told Hartley, during a discussion at another location, that he wasn't afraid of Hartley's pit bulls. Police say Merritt showed up at the home sometime later and entered the kennel where more than 20 of the dogs were chained to their dog houses. The men got into a scuffle and Hartley was stabbed. He has since been released from the hospital.