But Delaware Circuit Court 1 Judge Marianne Vorhees ruled that the 37-year-old Johnson, who recently moved from Muncie to Hammond, could post a $500 cash bond and remain free while he appeals his convictions.
A jury in November found Johnson guilty of 14 counts of possessing an animal for use in a fighting contest, a Class D felony with a standard 18-month prison term, and seven counts of cruelty to an animal, a misdemeanor.
His sentencing came at the end of a hearing that spanned six hours — with a few breaks — and saw Johnson and his attorney repeatedly blame his convictions on overzealous prosecutors and coverage of his case by The Star Press.
“All I’ve heard today is Rahsaan Johnson is a victim,” Judge Vorhees said. “I was really hoping to hear some recognition that you put yourself in this position.”
The judge noted the squalid conditions of the condemned Blaine Street mobile home where Johnson’s pit bulls were found, divided among the trailer, its back yard and a garage, many of them confined to small cages.
Three veterinarians testified at Johnson’s trial that 17 of his 25 dogs had scars and bite wounds that were consistent with dog fighting.
At his trial, Johnson maintained those injuries were inflicted only after the pit bulls were removed from his property and taken to the Muncie Animal Shelter. Vorhees said Friday she found that claim especially hard to believe.
Deputy Prosecutor Joe Orick had recommended a maximum four-year sentence.
“Those dogs suffered horribly,” he said. “The animals were forced to live a life of misery and pain. ... They never felt what it was like to be a dog.”
Defense attorney Mike Quirk urged the judge to keep his client’s convictions in perspective.
“We’re talking about animals,” he said. “We’re not talking about children. We’re not talking about humans.”
Quirk also said there was “no evidence whatsoever that (Johnson) has ever seen a dog fight.”
“This is a good guy,” Quirk said of his client. “This is a guy that I have had in my house.”
Quirk said authorities “want their pound of flesh in this case,” in part because the raid that resulted in seizure of the dogs “was splashed on the front page of the newspaper.
He also noted several of the pit bulls were transferred to out-of-state facilities or destroyed before a veterinarian hired by the defense could assess their conditions.
Johnson — who contended he was innocent of all charges — maintained he did not receive a fair trial, saying Deputy Prosecutor Orick “lied,” and that pre-trial newspaper coverage had turned the community — and those who would serve on the jury — against him.
He and Quirk reportedly referred a reference in a Star Press article published the day after the raid — which did not contain Johnson’s name — in which police suggested at least one of the seized dogs, with a deformed leg, had been used as “bait” in fight training.
Trial testimony indicated the withered condition of the dog’s leg was likely due to a birth defect.
Vorhees noted a veterinarian said improper nutrition and an inability to exercise also could have been factors in that condition.
A later article quoted an official as saying Johnson had been convicted of animal neglect in New Jersey. That case actually involved a citation that was eventually dismissed.
Johnson said Friday he had been arrested about 10 times over the years, but never convicted of a crime. Charges of battery and possession of marijuana filed against him in Illinois in the late 1990s are still pending, as is a theft charge filed in Vorhees’ court last year.
He also said reports that the mobile home where he kept his dogs was without electricity were false.
Along with maintaining prospective jurors had “preconceived notions” about his character, Johnson said he had not been judged by “a jury of my peers.”
The defendant, who is black, noted that all six jurors were white.
Johnson told the judge he is the father of five sons, ranging in age from 17 years to 17 months, three of whom live with the defendant and his wife. He testified he was needed at home because of his wife’s health problems.
The defendant wept as he read letters to the court written by two of his children.
“I really miss my dogs and going with my dad to feed them,” one of his sons wrote. “I don’t know why they killed my dogs. I pray every night that my dad will be here ... because we need him.”
Johnson also said he intended to never again own a dog.
For nearly an hour, Quirk asked Chief Probation Officer Vickie Reed whether she believed his client “needed” to be in prison.
Reed repeatedly said she had not made a sentencing recommendation, standard procedure in cases involving the lowest grade of felony.
She also said in some Indiana counties, probation officers never make recommendations on what sentence a judge should impose.
“Do you believe (Johnson) is a danger to society?” Quirk asked the probation officer.
“I believe he’s a danger to animals,” Reed responded.
Vorhees noted that she and Reed had agreed there would be no recommendation made, with the judge adding she would not consider Reed’s response to Quirk’s question in deciding on a sentence.
But after Quirk posed the question, with minor variations, perhaps as many as 20 times, Reed finally said the defendant’s prior record would reflect he might not “need” to be incarcerated.
Before the lengthy sentencing hearing, the attorneys agreed to argue what restitution Johnson should be ordered, to pay, if any, at a separate, yet-to-be-scheduled hearing.
(Muncie Star Press - Mar 1, 2013)
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