Susan Leach, of Stevens Road, Elbridge, was charged with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a house. She said she shot her neighbor's pit bull mix on the afternoon of May 31 because it was attacking her 10-year-old cat.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said in statement released this afternoon that his office declines to prosecute Leach and will move to dismiss the charge against her.
Leach waived her right to appear in court this evening. Elbridge Town Court Justice George Bettis granted the dismissal of the charge against Leach.
Shannon Sobus, Tucker's owner, said she was mortified by the district attorney's decision to drop the charge.
Sobus said the next step is to file a civil suit. The family has hired Matt Albert, a lawyer who specializes in animal cruelty cases.
"We were outraged that they wouldn't charge her with animal cruelty and now they drop this charge," Sobus said.
The neighborhood incident sparked online outrage. A petition on change.org has garnered more than 2,200 signatures from people as far away as South Africa and Italy who have taken up the cause to demand prosecutors charge Leach with animal cruelty.
The Sobus family has also kept the public updated on the case on the Justice For Tucker Facebook page. The page has 1,810 likes.
About a dozen protesters gathered outside the Elbridge Town Court this evening with signs demanding justice for Tucker.
Here are the reasons why Fitzpatrick asked the judge to dismiss the charge:
- The dog in question, Tucker, has an unfortunate history of acting aggressively towards numerous neighbors. These reports have been confirmed by a review of Elbridge Court records as well as affidavits provided by said neighbors. Tucker has also been spotted on numerous occasions running through the neighborhood unleashed.
- The statute in question is designed to deter or punish offenders who foolishly endanger public safety by discharging a firearm for recreational, hunting or target shooting purposes in proximity to occupied dwellings. The statute does not apply to someone acting with a reasonable belief that such discharge of a weapon is necessary to protect the life of some person or some domesticated animal.
- The only eyewitnesses to the event, albeit interested family members, tell a coherent story that is entirely consistent with Ms. Leach's version of events.
- Exactly what Tucker the dog would have done had he caught up to the cat before being shot is pure speculation. Arguments that Ms. Leach should have done this or could have done that are pure conjecture and are of no assistance in deciding how to handle this case. What is clear is that Ms. Leach's assertion that she feared imminent bodily injury or death to her cat was an eminently reasonable conclusion based on all the evidence.
- For the reasons stated above, the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office declines to prosecute Ms. Leach and will move to dismiss this charge in the interest of justice.
"This Office is acutely aware of the emotional response that animal cases generate," Fitzpatrick said.
"This Office has a long and distinguished track record in aggressively pursuing legitimate cases of animal cruelty. With that said, and having been made aware of a number of threats directed at Susan Leach, please be advised that any effort to harass, intimidate or in any way harm this woman or members of her family will be dealt with as harshly as the law permits."
(Syracuse.com - Aug 19, 2014)
OF COURSE the owner of the pit has no idea that animal cruelty can occur to other people's normal pets when their pit rips it to shreds. THAT thought is outside of their ability to think rationally.
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