OKLAHOMA -- Cody Wayne Hahn was convicted of animal cruelty on January 26 in Creek County. This is a victory for everyone who cares about halting violence in communities across our state.
Hahn will serve one year in Creek County jail with the remainder of a five year sentence suspended and he was ordered to pay $3,300 in restitution.
In October, 2008 Creek County Deputy Charles Redfern responded to a call from a caller who had seen someone intentionally tie a dog to the back of a pickup truck and then drive the truck at high speed down a gravel road.
The dog that Oklahomans have come to know as, ‘Sammy,’ was nearly skinned alive and the gruesome crime shocked northeast Oklahoma.
[Another article states that the dog belonged to Hahn's girlfriend, Rikki Seritt.]
Deputy Redfern immediately called for assistance for the severely injured dog. The dog was transported to Bristow Animal Hospital where he received intensive treatment. Within three weeks Deputy Redfern had identified Cody Hahn of Creek County as a suspect in the case.
Since then Creek County has witnessed a legal case that pitted a young man with too much financial resource and too little conscience against a determined sheriff’s office and prosecutor.
All studies show that this type of crime often emboldens the perpetrator to escalate their violence to include people; indeed according to the FBI all serial killers started out ‘practicing’ on animals.
Folks from across the nation applauded the efforts of the Creek County Sheriff’s Office to solve the crime.
Note: Hahn was identified in another article as an Army Ranger who was home on leave at the time of the incident.
Once charged with the crime, Cody Hahn (then 21) used high-priced legal counsel to help him ‘get off.’
Animal welfare organizations posted a reward to attract additional witnesses and kept a vigil at each courtroom appearance. Cody Hahn appeared grinning in all photos and never acknowledged the severity of the crime for which he was accused.
Ultimately in 2010 Hahn texted an intimidating message to a witness. By that point the family members who had gathered to support him had largely vanished and he was finally represented by a court-appointed attorney.
Hahn’s early legal team tried every angle to challenge Oklahoma’s anti-cruelty statutes. At one point attorney Creekmore Wallace of Sapulpa postulated that if statutes protected a stray (thereby valueless) dog from being skinned alive, possibly our statutes could be used to criminalize someone who stepped on a bug.
Hahn’s arrogance lost, and his legal counsel’s maneuvering failed.
And today, as he was convicted of animal cruelty, decent people everywhere won big time!
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| The dog, renamed Sammy, has recovered and is living a great life now. |
Per Newson6 article: "Cody Hahn's girlfriend, Rikki Leigh Seritt (aka Rikki Seritt), 18, was also charged. In addition to the felony charge, she faces two misdemeanor counts of obstructing an officer. Seritt's case was on hold until Hahn's wrapped up, but prosecutors will move forward this Spring."
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| Rikki Leigh Seritt |
(Tulsa Pets Magazine - Jan 26, 2012)
Earlier:
- Oklahoma: Army serviceman Cody Hahn appears in court, accused of animal torture
- Oklahoma: Army soldier Cody Hahn denies dragging dog and then abandoning it on the side of the road to die
- Oklahoma: Cody Hahn has hearing on felony animal cruelty case in which he and his girlfriend Rikki Seritt are accused of tying a dog to their pickup and purposely driving off, skinning the dog alive
- Oklahoma: Army serviceman Cody Hahn arrested for intimidating witness in animal torture case
- Oklahoma: Police searching for Cody Hahn's girlfriend Rikki Seritt - both involved in the horrific dog dragging case
- Oklahoma: Cody Hahn, 20, already arrested on animal cruelty charges for skinning a dog by purposely dragging it behind his truck. Now his girlfriend Rikki Seritt, 18, has been arrested
- Oklahoma: Rikki Seritt, 18, and her boyfriend Cody Hahn, 20, have upcoming court dates, accused of purposely dragging her dog behind their vehicle, skinning the dog alive
- Oklahoma: Already charged with felony animal cruelty, Cody Hahn manages to avoid jail on an unrelated criminal charge
