WINDCREST, Texas – The City of Windcrest defended its decision to continue paying the owner of an animal boarding facility after he was arrested twice in seven months in separate felony assault cases.

One of the incidents occurred at a home in Windcrest, a mile from city hall, charging records show.

Corey Jones, 43, is awaiting indictment on felony charges of injury to a child and family assault-impeding breath, Bexar County court records show.

He is free on bond and late last month denied the allegations during an interview with INC in front of his business.

Jones paid nearly $196K to board stray animals, without a contract in place

Jones, the owner of Texas Canine Boarding & Pet Services in the 6200 block of Montgomery Drive, said he was approached by then-Windcrest police Chief Jimmie Cole in the summer of 2023.

“I got a knock on my door asking for some kind of help,” Jones told the Windcrest Ethics Commission during a hearing in October.

He said Cole asked if Jones’ business could immediately begin housing stray cats and dogs found in Windcrest, since there was a dispute between the city and the facility that had been housing the animals.

The operator of Karma’s Cozy Kennel and Spaw had recently texted Windcrest’s city manager: “Please get all your animals out of our facility today. No exceptions. Get them out now. Thanks,” internal records obtained by INC Investigates show.

The text message followed months-long discord between Karma’s operators and city leaders.

The issues included a proposal from the business to have Windcrest pay a fee to reserve kennel spaces and repeated complaints from Karma’s about the actions of a city animal control officer, internal records show.

Weeks before Cole approached Jones, Texas Canine had received approval from San Antonio Animal Care Services to run a commercial boarding operation, records show.

Jones, during the October hearing, described the arrangement as a handshake agreement between him and Cole.

The facility began taking in stray animals in late August 2023, and Jones’ company began to receive five-figure payments as a vendor for the City of Windcrest that fall, according to records.

Jones was paid $195,886.82 to board the animals for just under 11 months, before the animals were returned to Karma’s last July after it submitted a formal bid and was awarded the boarding contract, records show.

Two felony assault arrests in seven months

A day after Thanksgiving 2023, about three months after Jones began caring for Windcrest’s stray animals, Windcrest police were called to a home in the 5900 block of Winterhaven Drive for a report of a 14-year-old boy being assaulted by his mother’s boyfriend, Jones, an arrest warrant states.

The teen told police he heard Jones and his mother arguing and that Jones attacked him when the teen asked why his mother was crying.

Jones “became aggressive, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him to the floor before getting on top of him where he then struck his left jaw with a closed fist and choked him,” an arrest warrant states.

The teen’s father told police he was on the phone with his son during the incident and “heard the scuffle and a loud thump before hearing the Victim choking,” the warrant states.

The boy’s mother told police Jones and her son were “tussling on her bedroom floor” and that she advised Jones to leave the home before officers arrived, according to the warrant.

The boy, who had bruises and scratches on his chest, redness on his jaw/cheek and back pain, was treated at the scene and then taken to a hospital for further treatment, the warrant states.

A warrant for felony injury to a child was issued for Jones hours after the incident.

Jones was taken into custody a few days later by Bulverde police and booked into the Comal County Jail, records show.

“That’s accused, that’s not true,” said Jones, when asked by INC last month about the arrest.

Jones denied fleeing from the home before officers arrived. He told INC, “That’s none of your business,” when asked why he was facing a criminal charge if the allegations were not true.

Last June, in a separate incident, Schertz police were called to Jones’ residence for a violent disturbance call.

Officers found Jones’ wife on the front porch, and she said she did not want to cause a scene in front of children who were inside the home, an incident report states.

She told police an intoxicated Jones accused her of talking to another man on Facebook.

After she got out of bed, she said Jones grabbed her by her hair and neck and slammed her onto the ground, the report states.

As the woman struggled, Jones then placed his forearm across her neck, making it difficult to breathe, “which terrified her,” the report states.

“She said she begged Corey to stop and he wouldn’t,” according to the report.

Jones bit his wife on the top of her head before she grabbed a can of bathroom cleaner and sprayed Jones in the face, causing him to get off of her, the report states.

After the woman called 911 from a different room, she said Jones begged her not to report the incident to police, according to the report.

Jones left the residence but was later tracked down by police at a nearby friend’s house, the report states.

Jones was arrested on a felony charge of family assault-impeding breath, the report states.

“What does that have to do with Windcrest? That’s a personal thing that’s taken care of on my own, that has nothing to do with you,” Jones told INC, when asked about the June 2024 assault arrest.

Both criminal cases against Jones are awaiting indictment, Bexar County court records show.

Jones does not have a criminal defense attorney listed for either charge, according to records.

Weeks after the city’s stray animals were removed from his care, Jones filed ethics complaints accusing two Windcrest residents of trying to disrupt his operation.

The complaints were dismissed by the city’s ethics commission.

Cole distances himself from boarding arrangement

Windcrest city officials confirm Jones was allowed to board the city’s stray animals for nearly a year without a formal contract in place.

Cole, who was fired by the city in December after clashing with residents and receiving negative reviews in an employee survey, attempted to distance himself from Jones and the animal boarding arrangement.

Cole, who sued Windcrest in early February, told INC through his attorney that he did not engage outside vendors, including Texas Canine, using handshake agreements.

Cole’s attorney told INC the final decision to engage Texas Canine for boarding services was made by then-City Manager Rafael Castillo.

Through his attorney, Cole told INC he informed Castillo that Jones had been arrested for an incident in Windcrest and deferred to Castillo’s discretion on how to proceed.

Castillo, who retired from the city earlier this year, did not respond to emails from INC seeking comment for this story.

An attorney for the city defended the decision to continue paying Jones after his two felony arrests, telling INC in a written statement:

“Windcrest acknowledges that all persons are presumed innocent and does not rely on an arrest of an individual with no charging instruments to disqualify a company, in most instances. The situation would be different if an indictment were issued, or a conviction imposed at the time Windcrest utilized Texas Canine as a vendor.”

Domestic violence resources

If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, there is a long list of resources on INC’s Domestic Violence page which includes a breakdown of what abuse is, and how it builds gradually.

If you are in crisis, you can:

• call or text 911

Read more reporting on the INC Investigates page.