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| John Oswald |
John Oswald, 30, pleaded no contest on Tuesday to two counts causing death, pain or suffering to animals and one count unlawful confinement or abandonment of animals. His arrest came after Escambia County sheriff’s deputies found two pit bulls sitting in their own filth, shackled with heavy chains and with bugs crawling all over them behind his home on U.S. 29.
The same day, another deputy shot and killed a dog, an arrest report says, and neighbors said the aggressive pit bull belonged to the Oswalds.
Oswald also pleaded no contest Tuesday to a marijuana charge, as investigators found marijuana growing in his backyard, according to his arrest report.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said his office had asked that Oswald serve 11 months and 15 days in the Escambia County Jail as a stipulation of his probation.
But Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh, who withheld adjudication on all charges, felt that Oswald only needed to be placed on probation for three years, according to court records.
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| Judge Gary Bergosh |
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| This dog's abuser not worthy of jail time according to Judge Gary Bergosh |
"I observed a very skinny black pit bull dog lying on its side and it appeared to be dead.... the black dog lift[ed] its head and look[ed] at me... The black dog [was] covered from head to toe in things crawling on it which I thought were ants. Upon closer inspection, I observed that these were fleas."
“It’s our policy to take a very firm position in these animal cruelty cases, particularly where the extent of cruelty is this significant,” Eddins said, explaining that prosecutors would have accepted a plea where no jail time would be served. “There was more than one animal involved, and there were other charges as well involving the marijuana.”
This is the second time this week that Bergosh has gone below the sentences asked for by prosecutors. The other case involved 27-year-old Michael Davis, who was convicted of manslaughter late last year in the shooting death of 16-year-old Alonzo Knight Jr.
On Tuesday, prosecutors asked for Davis to be sentenced to 30 years in prison, the maximum recommended by the state Department of Corrections. Instead, Bergosh handed down a six-year prison sentence, infuriating Knight’s family.
The minimum recommended sentence for the manslaughter charge is 10 years.
Prosecutors said they will appeal that sentence.
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| Amanda Oswald |
The case against John Oswald’s wife, 34-year-old Amanda Oswald, is still pending. She is set to appear in court today, and Eddins said prosecutors will be asking for a continuance so they can talk to John Oswald and get more information about the case.
(pnj.com - Jan 17, 2013)
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