Dong Nguyen, 55, entered a plea of guilty to one count of animal cruelty in what was his 19th court appearance in the matter. In a plea bargain struck with prosecutors, the more serious charge of weapons dangerous to the public peace was withdrawn.
Nguyen was granted a conditional discharge and was placed on probation for a period of one year. The terms of his probation include performing 100 hours of community service in a humane society.
He must also make restitution in the amount of $1,365. That amount represents veterinarian bills to treat one of the injured baby raccoons.
If Nguyen successfully completes his probation, he will not have a criminal record.
Nguyen's lawyer, Peter Scully, told City News his client was very remorseful for what he did. Scully said, "He was aggravated by the destruction that the 'coons were causing in his backyard and he didn't know that what he had to do is call the animal control people. He thought he had to deal with it himself." The lawyer added his client has learned his lesson.
Around 5 a.m. on June 1, 2011, Roddy Muir, a resident of the west end Toronto neighbourhood was woken up by screams he thought might be of that of a child being tossed around.
He told the Toronto Star that when he went out to investigate, he saw Nguyen in his [Nguyen's] backyard swinging a shovel at a baby raccoon, causing it to fall from a fence. Another raccoon was "cowering" on the ground, obviously injured.
Muir yelled at Nguyen and asked him what he was doing. He replied, "They're destroying my garden." Muir had seen Nguyen attack raccoons on a previous occasion but let it go. This time he called 911 and Nguyen was arrested shortly thereafter.
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| Dong Nguyen |
While it took almost two years for the criminal justice system to determine Nguyen's guilt, some of his neighbours determined his guilt within hours. The same day he was arrested, posters were drawn up and delivered door-to-door in the neighbourhood. The posters showed Nguyen being led away in handcuffs by police and demanded he leave the neighbourhood.
But others defended Nguyen who was described as a quiet, nice guy, and said he should be viewed as innocent until proven guilty. Other neighbours used the incident to complain the city does not do enough to help residents with wild animals on their property.
The maximum punishment for animal cruelty in Canada is a $10,000 fine and 18 months in jail.
(DigitalJournal.com - Mar 13, 2013)
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