Report: Former Georgia State football player Jalen Wade charged in Atlanta dog beheading case

A grisly story unfolded Wednesday afternoon involving former Georgia State football player Jalen Wade and a beheaded dog. 11Alive’s Cody Alcorn reported extensively on the story, which unfolded in Atlanta.

Wade has been charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals and misdemeanor willful obstruction of law enforcement officers. Wade was taken into custody after a standoff with police.

According to 11Alive, police were called after a woman reported seeing a decapitated dog on Jalen Wade’s Instagram account. Police and Fulton County Animal Services came out to the residence, attempting to contact Wade.

After he reportedly refused to come out and barricaded himself inside the house, a SWAT team responded and eventually took him into custody. That’s when things get gruesome.

11Alive reports that “investigators said the dog’s head was found in a bowl next to a machete on the front porch.” They have not identified a motive.

The dog’s owner, Precious Cody, told 11Alive that an animal services investigator relayed authorities are looking into Jalen Wade’s mental state as part of the investigation. Cody lost the dog in September.

Authorities contacted Cody after finding a microchip on the dog. You can view more details from Cody on the dog and the harrowing story here.

Jalen Wade played at Georgia State for three years after spending time at Georgia Military College out of high school. In three years, he recorded six tackles, working primarily as a special teams contributor. He appeared in 20 games during his time with the Panthers.

Coming out of Georgia Military College, Wade was ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 218 overall recruit in the 2017 class, according to the On3 Junior College Industry Rankings. He was the No. 23 linebacker in the class and the No. 7 overall recruit from the state of Georgia, hailing from Milledgeville, Ga.