Alleged dog stabber wanted on $250k warrant
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 24, 2026
An Oak Harbor man accused of threatening two women and stabbing a dog is wanted on a $250,000 warrant.
James L. Mathis, 39, failed to appear for a hearing in Island County Superior Court Monday. Prosectors charged him earlier with animal cruelty in the first degree and two counts of felony harassment.
In court, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Laura Twitchell explained that Oak Harbor police have been searching for Mathis intently since the incident was reported on Feb. 9, but they but have had no luck. She said Mathis has four outstanding warrants, one of which is for a previous felony harassment case.
Judge Carolyn Cliff said the allegations of the incident were disturbing and agreed to issue the warrant at $250,000, which is a significant amount in Island County cases.
An officer with the Oak Harbor Police Department started investigating the case on Feb. 9 after a woman reported that Mathis had threatened to kill her and a friend, according to the officer’s report. She said he got angry when she left the home to help a friend with moving her vehicle and threw items at her when she returned; she suffered bruises across her body, the report states.
When the woman and her friend tried to leave with the children, Mathis alleged broke the car’s windshield, the report alleges.
One of the women also reported that Mathis stabbed her pitbull two days before the incident. She reported that Mathis pushed the dog and it bit him. Mathis “went after” the dog and stabbed it with a knife, the officer wrote; the woman felt he was going to kill the dog if she didn’t stop him.
The dog was taken to an Oak Harbor veterinary office and was treated, which was funded by crisis care funds from Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation. The medical report states that the dog suffered a two-inch-long stab wound, and the veterinarian inserted drainage tubes that were removed two weeks later.
Mathis’ criminal history includes charges for cyberstalking, domestic assault and felony assault for allegedly shooting a woman in the buttocks.
