Staten Island man sentenced to a year in jail for animal cruelty

 

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A judge took a bite out of a New Brighton felon, sentencing him on Thursday to a year in jail for maltreating two dogs, resulting in one’s death.

James E. Jones, 31, was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to torturing and injuring animals.

Last month, James E. Jones, 31, pleaded guilty in Stapleton Criminal Court to torturing and injuring animals, a misdemeanor.

Under his pleas, he was sentenced to concurrent one-year jail terms, said prosecutors. Jones also signed a $2,000 confession of judgment and will be forbidden from owning animals.

Jones was arrested in April, three months after ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) agents rescued two emaciated and dehydrated pit bulls, said officials.

According to court papers, Jones owned the dogs — two brindle-and-white females — 1 and 3 years old, respectively, between Sept. 1, 2011, and Jan. 6 of this year.

He didn’t name the animals and kept them in a garage outside his home, said Joseph Pentangelo, an ASPCA spokesman.

Jones gave the dogs little food and water, he said.

Desperate for sustenance, the pit bulls resorted to eating anything they could chew to stay alive, said Pentangelo.

The ASPCA received an anonymous tip about the pit bulls’ condition and rescued them in January, he said.

The dogs were found to be “dehydrated, weak and emaciated,” according to court papers.

An examination revealed that both were eating “non-nutritive substances,” such as pieces of plastic, insulated wire and particulate matter, court documents state.

Laverne, the younger animal named by rescuers, didn’t survive, despite efforts to save her.

The older dog, christened Shirley, recovered.

Besides the animal cruelty charge, Jones pleaded guilty to obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest, stemming from an unrelated July 25 arrest, said prosecutors

Defense lawyer Michael Gompers previously declined comment on the pleas.

Jones was previously convicted in the Bronx of attempted criminal weapon possession, a felony, and sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to online records of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. He was released on parole in March 2004.

News Link:–http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/09/staten_island_man_sentenced_to_10.html

 

Accused dog beater held on $3,500 bond after surveillance video shows attack on pit-bull mix COMMENTS PLEASE

Brian Freeman appears in Manhattan Criminal Court on Sept. 11, 2012. He’s charged with kicking a pit bull in the elevator of the Wagner Houses on August 26. Police surveillance video showed the attack, but Freeman’s lawyer claims that the attacker’s identity is not clear.

A Bronx man accused of viciously kicking a pit-bull in a Harlem elevator was held Tuesday in lieu of $3,500 bond.

Brian Freeman, 28, was caught on surveillance tape at the Wagner Houses on E. 120th St. on Aug. 26, leading the cowering pooch into the lift, then repeatedly kicking and punching the poor pup, prosecutors said.

Freeman’s father-in-law took the dog — a tan-and-white pitt-bull mix named Hazel — to an area animal shelter for treatment after the elevator beat-down, prosecutors said.

A rep for New York City Animal Care and Control said Hazel was doing “okay” Tuesday, but offered no additional details about her health.

Freeman, who was arrested yesterday on unrelated marijuana possession charges, was charged with one count of torturing an animal.

The video shows the “dog cower on the elevator floor and move around as if said dog was experiencing substantial pain,” according to the complaint.

Freeman’s lawyer said it’s impossible to determine who the attacker is based solely on the video. — Janon Fisher

News Link:- http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/accused-dog-beater-held-3-500-bond-surveillance-video-shows-attack-pit-bull-mix-article-1.1156776#ixzz26ac6AjXR

PLEASE USE VIEWER DISCRETION

 DO YOU THINK THIS MAN IS THE ACCUSED??

IF SO, WHAT SHOULD HIS PUNISHMENT BE???

Published on 9 Sep 2012 by jaynorris117

PIX News – CAUGHT ON VIDEO – Man Kicking Small Dog In Elevator (9-08-12)

Boy, 10, watches cops shoot and kill his dog

“All I can say is that must have been some rough & tumble playing, a stranger wouldn’t attack a dog if the owner didn’t look in trouble…perhaps there is more to this than meets the eye?”

MOUNT VERNON (WABC) — Police shot and killed a pit bull in Mount Vernon Monday as the dog was allegedly attacking a man.

But the dog’s 10-year-old owner, who was out walking the dog at the time, and eyewitnesses dispute the claim and say the alleged victim provoked the attack by hitting the animal with a 2×4 and strangling it.

Kenyatta Ali is still traumatized by what he witnessed on the 300 block of Union Avenue, where police shot and killed one of his best friends.

Mount Vernon city officials say that at about 11 a.m., the pit bull attacked a 29-year-old man and mauled him.

Investigators called it unprovoked, and authorities say police had no choice but to shoot the dog before it would release the victim.

However, several witnesses say it shouldn’t have gotten to that point, and that it was all a terrible mistake that got horribly out of control.

“The boy was playing with his dog, and the man thought the dog was attacking him,” witness Jovonne Bourdeau said.

She believes the would-be Good Samaritan, identified as Jason McCrae, tried to step in and help the boy by beating the dog with the 2×4. That’s when the dog bit him.

“It was provoked,” Kenyatta’s brother Malcolm Easley said. “If people have sticks, hitting an animal that’s not even his, and got his hands around the dog’s neck, what you think you gonna do? Be bit, right?”

According to police, the dog’s owner had previously been issued violations of animal control laws.

McCrae is still being treated at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

VIDOE &News Link:-http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/northern_suburbs&id=8714297

ASPCA Assists NYPD in Seizure of 50 Dogs, Forensic Evidence Collection in Bronx Dog Fighting Case Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/21/4580701/aspca-assists-nypd-in-seizure.html#storylink=cpy

NEW YORK, June 21, 2012 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®), in conjunction with the NYPD Vice Enforcement Division and Bronx District Attorney’s office, is assisting in the removal, forensic evidence collection and on-scene documentation and sheltering of 50 dogs seized from a dog fighting operation this afternoon at 1254 Sherman Avenue, a six-story apartment building in the Bronx.

Raul Sanchez of the Bronx was charged with animal fighting, a felony. Other related charges may follow.

Many of the dogs, which range in age from 12 weeks to five years, exhibited injuries indicative of fighting. They were living in a windowless basement, which included a makeshift arena with estimated capacity for 100 spectators. Also recovered were a loaded .25-caliber handgun, 22 crude wooden cages, multiple pet carriers, U.S. currency, and paraphernalia associated with dog fighting, including dog treadmills, harnesses, muzzles, syringes, and a shopping cart full of raw chicken parts.

“Organized dog fighting is a brutal form of animal abuse where dogs are exploited and forced to fight as their owners profit from their torture,” said Howard Lawrence, senior director of operations for the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement department. “The dogs we saw today exhibited scarring and injuries consistent with fighting dogs. The ASPCA is determined to protect New York City’s animals from this form of cruelty.”

A search warrant was executed Thursday afternoon for the removal of the dogs. The dogs are being transferred by the ASPCA to a temporary shelter for further evaluation by the organization’s emergency response medical team.

In addition to removing the animals and collecting evidence, the ASPCA is providing legal support to the Bronx district attorney’s office to help prosecute the case.

The investigation is continuing.

News Link:-http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/21/4580701/aspca-assists-nypd-in-seizure.html 

Veterinarian Accused of Dumping Animal Remains on Parkway

A Bronx veterinarian who promised owners proper burials for their beloved pets has been arrested and accused of dumping remains of animals along the Hutchinson River Parkway.

The animals discovered last month included dogs, cats and a lizard. The SPCA said they had been euthanized before they were dumped.

Police say the veterinarian, Andrew Manesis, accepted cash for “proper burial” and then dumped the bodies. He collected anywhere from $100 to $300 per animal, according to authorities.

“I think it’s particularly egregious because many pet owners treat their pets as family,” said Westchester County Public Safety Sgt. Edward Reich. “They regard them as family members.”

 Manesis told NBC 4 New York the allegations were “false” as he left the Westchester police station Tuesday, but declined to answer any other questions about the case.

The remains were found near an entrance ramp to the Hutchinson River Parkway in Harrison.

The animals were in varying states of decay and some appeared to have been there for months.

A veterinarian in Mount Vernon performed necropsies on five of the animals and found no signs of abuse.

News & Video Link:-http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Animals-Hutchinson-River-Parkway-Veterinarian-Arrest-155413865.html

 

Pigeon abuse is a multi-million-dollar enterprise

Pigeon racing is a hobby that fosters some $15 million a year in unlawful gambling countrywide and involves the killing of thousands of birds. This and more was discovered by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,who exposed the cruelty and corruptionof this practice after a 15-month undercover investigation.

The animal rights group presented law enforcement organaizations including the FBI with a book’s worth of evidence of what its lawyers say are illegalities in the pigeon racing “sport.” But the messy details are particularly disturbing:

The races involve trained homing pigeons, who are driven hundreds of miles away from their home environments and released. The bird that flies home the quickest wins. This initially seems innocent enough, but investigators learned that in many races – most of which are 600 plus miles – over 60 percent of the birds get lost or die from harsh weather, predators, hunters, electrical lines, or mere exhaustion.

Furthermore, some activists believe that the deliberate separation of a pigeon from its home and family causes severe emotional trauma; this could also play a factor in some of the birds’ deaths while in transit.

Supporting this, said PETA, is the fact that, “Pigeons are complex problem-solvers and have tested even higher than cats, dogs, and primates on intelligence tests. They are loyal mates and doting parents – the mothers and fathers take turns caring for their hatchlings. Pigeon racers exploit these qualities by removing birds from their mates and babies so that they will be frantic and fly home faster. Once the racing season is complete and the babies are no longer needed, they’re often killed.”

Indeed, the group’s undercover probe obtained audial and visual evidence that only 40 percent of pigeons that were raced survived.

In addition to the abuse, pigeon racing organizations – in particular the Bronx Homing Pigeon Club – secretly dish out hundreds of thousands of dollars for winning bets on races. In New York, where that club is located, a horse is the only animal that can be legally raced for gambling purposes.

Read the rest of this story below-

News Link:-http://peoplesworld.org/pigeon-abuse-is-a-multi-million-dollar-enterprise/

Two starved pit bulls rescued as Bronx woman is charged with animal cruelty

“Dam, this infuriates the hell out of me…There is just no excuse for pets to look like this, the courts have to start handing out some serious prison time for animal abusers. At most the majority get off with a slapped wrist,  & no contact with said species for a couple of year…Oh, & possibly a fine, that they obviously won’t be able to pay, if they couldn’t afford to buy dog food!”  

“Come on, that just isn’t going to be any deterrent whatsoever; especially if they live in an area known for dog fighting. These guys are clever & know how to work the system,  they could walk straight out of the court house to a mates house, who has pit bull puppies to re- home, the offender doesn’t necessarily have to take it home….I’m sure the owner of the pups will gladly stick it on the end of a chain in his back yard…Especially if a lot of money is going to change hands due to fights .”

“The Authorities can’t keep their eye on them all the time. Bring in Animal Abuse Registry’s, let all shelters, pounds etc. have access to certain records to make sure their not handing out a dog to some inhumane sicko, who’s going to let it starve or worse use it as a bait-dog!! And so they can’t change their name & address to wriggle out of the registry, when they are first added, there must be a clear photo, just like a passport…That should in theory stop a lot of re-abuse, it’s worth a try…isn’t it?”

Both dogs, Cagney and Lacey, will be put up for adoption, the ASPCA said

Starved pit bulls Cagney (below) and Lacey (above) were rescued and are recovering. Soon, they will be up for adoption.

The photos of  the two bony pit bulls — their ribs protruding — are almost too much to take.

When the pooches, Cagney and Lacey, were rescued Feb. 17 from an apartment in the Norwood section of the Bronx they weighed merely 16.4 and 15.2 pounds, respectively. One of the malnourished youngsters was tied to a radiator with an electrical cord.

Agents for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals arrested Gillian Irving, 27, on Friday for starving them, the agency said.

The dogs were taken to the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital for treatment, and now weigh about 27 pounds each.

They will both be put up for adoption, the ASPCA said.

Irving was charged with two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. She faces up to two years in jail and/or a $2,000 fine if convicted. She is due in Bronx Criminal Court on Aug. 22.

The animal protection group learned about the two abused pups through a tip.

 “As in this case, if someone did not report the matter the animals would likely have died,” ASPCA spokesman Joseph Pentangelo said. “Animal crueltyis a wrong and a crime.”He said the arrest was the agency’s third in the Bronx this year and 16th city-wide.To report animal cruelty in New York City, contact the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement department at (212) 876-7700, extension 4450 or enforcement@aspca.org.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/starved-pitbulls-rescued-a-bronx-woman-charged-animal-cruelty-article-1.1065510#ixzz1so0gFCgD