MASSACHUSETTS -- Douglas County District Court Judge Michael Malone issued a bench warrant Thursday for a 23-year-old Lawrence man who was found guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty earlier this week.
Byron Anthony Snowton failed to appear Thursday for sentencing after being found guilty in a bench trial Tuesday.
The court found Snowton had knowingly, but without malicious intent, injured his dog by binding its hind legs with plastic ties and leaving it unable to stand in a yard outside an apartment building in the 800 block of Michigan Street.
The dog’s legs were bound with plastic ties used as handcuffs by military police, which Snowton said he possessed because of his service in the Kansas National Guard.
Thursday’s hearing was also meant to decide the future custody of the dog and hear a probation violation in Snowton’s case.
PROBATION VIOLATION
He was on probation for a 2007 theft at the time of his arrest.
Court testimony Tuesday suggested the dog may be euthanized by the Humane Society if its history of aggression makes it unsuitable for adoption.
Snowton has said he would seek to regain custody of the dog.
(Lawrence Journal World - February 2, 2013)
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