- Virginia, USA -
~ Update: June 22, 2022
On Tuesday, June 21, a judge in Halifax County District Court dismissed felony animal cruelty charges against 33-years-old ANDREW ALAN DEASE (pictured).
DEASE was arrested on Tuesday, April 12, on two felony charges of animal cruelty after his two dogs died after being dragged behind a vehicle for approximately three miles.
WSET reports that Halifax County Commonwealth's Attorney Tracy Martin said DEASE described the dragging of the dogs as an accident and she said: “He told the judge that he had been ‘coon hunting’ with a friend. He placed his hunting dogs inside a large ‘dog box’ in the bed of his pickup truck and tied them there as well. He said the latch on the box door was faulty, allowing the dogs to jump out. He testified that he was unaware while he was driving that the dogs had tried to escape. He testified that, only when he stopped at a friend’s house, did he realize the dogs had been dragged.”
The judge found that DEASE had no intent to harm the dogs and that his actions were accidental.
Martin explained that “The animal cruelty statute requires proof that the defendant acted ‘willfully’ in inflicting inhumane injury or pain.”
In this case, the Court found that DEASE “lacked the requisite criminal intent in that he did not willfully intend the tragic end to his companion animals.”
Voice For Us wants to add that COMMON SENSE requires that if you have dogs in the bed of your truck, (by the way, I am TOTALLY against it), you regularly check on them through your mirrors. I do not believe for a second that DEASE never looked at his mirrors.
He knew what he was doing, and the idiot and cruel judge need to be dragged themselves!!!
~ Original story:
On March 29, Lt. Midkiff and Officer Emerman with Halifax County Animal Control responded to Lowery Road for a report of two deceased dogs on the side of the road.
Animal Control Chief Catherine Martinette told The Gazette-Virginian that from an investigation it emerged that 33-years-old ANDREW ALAN DEASE (pictured) was the furbabies’ guardian and that he dragged them both behind a vehicle for approximately three miles on Lowery Road. He then just “discarded” them, said Chief Martinette.
The VOICELESS VICTIMS were sent to the State Animal Health Laboratory in Harrisonburg for a necropsy to determine cause of death.
DEASE, of Semora, North Carolina, was arrested on Tuesday, April 12, on two felony charges of animal cruelty. He was released after posting a $3,500 bond.
His next court date is set for June 21, 2022.
If convicted, DEASE faces up to only five years in prison and a fine of up to only $2,500 as per “Tommie’s Law.”
Many of you may be aware of “Tommie’s Law” which went into effect into July 1, 2019, making animal cruelty a felony offense.
Under “Tommie’s Law”, anyone who “tortures, willfully inflicts inhumane injury or pain,” or “cruelly and unnecessarily beats, maims or mutilates any dog or cat” can be found guilty of a Class-6 felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.
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