Friday, September 5, 2014

Prattville man appeals animal cruelty conviction

ALABAMA -- A Prattville man wants a jury to decide if he’s guilty of misdemeanor animal abuse.

Nathan R. Barber (aka Nathan Barber) was convicted of cruelty to a dog or cat in Prattville Municipal Court on April 16, city court records show. He appealed the case to Autauga Circuit Court on May 17. Wednesday morning he entered a not guilty plea before Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds.

No one disputes the fact that he killed the cat, described as an “orange and black calico” in court papers, by shooting it with a pellet gun. The facts of the case are in dispute, said Brad Haley, his attorney.

“He saw a cat that was injured and in pain and he put the animal out of its misery,” he said. “I have done the same thing myself on the farm numerous times. I read the statute and I wonder if I could be charged with cruelty to animals.”

If convicted, Barber faces a maximum sentence of a year and a day in the county jail and a $500 fine, Hawley said.

The cat was in his backyard on Cross Creek Road where it was mauled by Barber’s dogs, said Rob Riddle, the city’s prosecutor. Barber put the dogs in the house, then allegedly let them out to maul the cat again, Riddle said.

“It was that second mauling that we feel constitutes cruelty,” he said. “It’s hard to argue an act of mercy when your actions exacerbated the animal’s injuries. The cat was somehow able to get away from the dogs and climb the fence and get into a neighbor’s yard.

"The neighbor videotaped Barber with her cell phone, reaching over the fence with the pellet gun in his hand, and shooting the cat several times.”

Reynolds set trial for the week of Sept. 29., but not before questioning both attorneys on the merits of the case.

“We’re gonna put 12 in the box over this?” Reynolds said, using the courthouse phrase for striking a jury.

“Judge, I’ve won my case once, this is what the defense wants,” Riddle said.

(Montgomery Advertiser - Sept 4, 2014)

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