Key Largo man convicted of beating Bubba the dog who swiped steak from kitchen

Jurors have found a Key Largo man guilty of felony animal cruelty that left an 8-month-old dog injured and fighting for its life.

Prosecutors say Noah Mitchell, 35, savagely beat his Labrador retriever, Bubba, during a barbecue on Oct. 3, 2010, because the animal took a steak from the kitchen counter. The six-member jury took about six hours to deliberate on Wednesday.

Animal cruelty is a third-degree felony in Florida. Third-degree felonies are usually punishable by up to five years in prison, but animal cruelty is among several charges with a maximum punishment of only one year in county jail and four years of probation.

Prosecutor Terri Hunnewell of the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office said Mitchell dropped, kicked, punched and strangled the dog around 9:30 p.m. that night. Mitchell had just moved into his house on Pimlico Lane.

Two men were also in the house when the incident happened — Curt Murphy and Gary Pitterman. Mitchell describes the men as “acquaintances” who helped him with the move. Pitterman was the prosecution’s only eyewitness. Mitchell’s defense attorney, Key West lawyer Donald Barrett, said Pitterman’s testimony was unreliable because he admittedly was drinking heavily that night.

But Hunnewell said the deputy who first interviewed Pitterman that night said the witness did not appear intoxicated. She told jurors that based on Bubba’s injuries, there was no reason they should doubt Pitterman’s version of the incident.

One veterinarian who observed Bubba at a Miami-Dade County animal clinic testified Tuesday that the dog’s injuries were consistent with those that an animal that size would sustain after falling from a two- to three-story building, or after being hit by a car. Bubba had collapsed lungs, a damaged larynx and six fractured ribs.

“The injuries are consistent with what Gary Pitterman said he saw Noah Mitchell do to Bubba,” Hunnewell told jurors during closing arguments Wednesday.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/24/2815141/key-largo-man-convicted-of-beating.html#storylink=cpy

 

Animal-rights activist arrested at gunpoint in Key Largo by Miami officer – Florida Keys – MiamiHerald.com

BY KEVIN WADLOW  KWADLOW@KEYNOTER.COM

An off-duty Miami police officer arrested at gunpoint an animal-rights activist outside a marine-mammal rehabilitation site in Key Largo. 

Arnold Christopher Lagergren, 41, also of Miami, is charged with four misdemeanor counts of trespass and vandalism for alleged incidents at the Marine Mammal Conservancy. Police reports describe him as affiliated with the international Animal Liberation Front organization, which advocates “direct action” against animal captivity.

The Marine Mammal Conservancy was founded to treat stranded whales and dolphins and prepare them for return to the wild. However, two pilot whales from a Lower Keys stranding in May were turned over to SeaWorld after experts concluded that neither a calf nor a sickly adult could survive if released.

Javier Ortiz, described in a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office report as an off-duty Miami police sergeant, was volunteering Saturday with the conservancy when he blocked Lagergren’s car and pulled a gun on the suspect. Monroe County Court Judge Regan Ptomey set bonds totaling $30,000 on the four charges, according to court records.

“This is a very politically charged situation, obviously,” said Richard Wunsch, Lagergren’s defense attorney.

“It does raise concerns,” Wunsch said. “Anybody would wonder how you get hit with a $30,000 bond on four misdemeanors after being arrested by an armed guy 100 miles from his jurisdiction.”

via Animal-rights activist arrested at gunpoint in Key Largo by Miami officer – Florida Keys – MiamiHerald.com.