Police: Danbury man choked wife, killed dog, fled to Canada

DANBURY — A man who police say killed a dog and tried to strangle his wife during an argument last year was extradited from Canada this week to face charges here.

Wesley Teixeira-DeSouza was originally arrested in May 2017 on charges including strangulation and malicious killing of an animal after officers answered a call about a fight at an apartment on Osborne Street.

Court documents show that Teixeira-DeSouza, 39, who had come home drunk, became enraged when his wife told him to sleep on the couch. When she locked herself in the bedroom, he threw the family dog against the bedroom door and then around the kitchen, killling the animal, a Yorkshire terrier.

When the woman eventually opened the door, Teixeira-DeSouza grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against a wall, court records state. He did not let go until their son hit him in the back with a pool cue.

Teixeira-DeSouza was arrested and posted a $150,000 bond but failed to appear for a court date in June.

Records show that officials with Moore Bail Bonds tracked him to Massachusetts and were about to apprehend him when he fled to Canada. He was eventually captured by Canadian immigration agents.

According to Le Journal de Montreal, Teixeira-DeSouza waived his right to an extradition hearing earlier this month after attempting unsuccessfully to return to his native country of Brazil.

“I have been informed that I will be transferred without delay to the United States," Teixeira-DeSouza said at a Montreal courthouse earlier this month, according to the Journal.

Teixeira-DeSouza appeared briefly Monday in Superior Court in Danbury, where he pleaded not guilty to several charges, including second-degree threatening, risk of injury to a minor and failing to appear in court.

He is being held in lieu of $300,000 bond. A hearing has also been scheduled for March 27 to hear arguments from the state about increasing his bond.

Officials with Moore Bail Bonds have filed motions attempting to avoid forfeiture of their bond, arguing that while Teixeira-DeSouza originally fled the district, he has been in custody since November.