William “Billy” Meek, Accused of Drowning Dog, Appears in Court

CALIFORNIA -- A man accused of drowning and killing a dog appeared in Sacramento County Court for his preliminary hearing.

William “Billy” Meek, 47, is charged with felony animal cruelty, after Animal Control officers responded to a deceased dog in the American River on June 15, 2014.

The decomposed and bloated dog was floating in the water. Sacramento County District Attorney Investigator, Steve Wharton was one of four witnesses who took the stand, to recollect the incident.

“Attached to the collar was a leash, and attached to the leash was a bowling ball bag, which contained a large river rock and a bowling ball,” he said.

The contents were later weighed, totaling 31 pounds.

  

The bowling ball and retractable leash found tied to Zelda

 

The dog was later found to be owned by Meek’s ex-girlfriend, Mollie Wasmiller. She was another witness on the stand, who admitted her 12-year-old dog, Zelda had some violent tendencies.

In fact, that day, Wasmiller had Meek take Zelda to Front Street Animal Shelter to be quarantined for10 days, after she bit her and her friend.

Why was the dog 'violent'? Maybe because your boyfriend is an abuser? Even if the dog had problems and needed to be put down, take the dog to the shelter. Or take it to a vet and request that it be euthanized, you idiot!

Where Zelda's body was found

However, Officer John Sorrels, the Front Street Animal Shelter’s Animal Control Officer said that never happened.

“Mr. Meek hadn’t been honest with us, and he hadn’t been honest with her [Wasmiller] about what he did with the dog,” Officer Sorrels said.

He visited Wasmiller to tell her exactly how they found Zelda. At first, Wasmiller did not believe her then-boyfriend would ever kill Zelda, and made up a story, saying she had given the dog and $20 to a homeless man.



RIP Zelda. This photo was from 2008 when she was
picked up running at large and reclaimed by Mollie. She
would have been better off having never been reclaimed.

Today, she testified with immunity in exchange for recanting her original false statement.

Wasmiller: “I loved him [Meek] very much. I didn’t to believe he would ever do that. And I did not believe it. So basically I was protecting him.”

Attorney: “You lied to cover for him?”

Wasmiller: “Yes, exactly.”

She's a worthless POS and deserves to have nothing but pain and sorrow in her life.

After several hours of witnesses taking to the stand, Meek pleaded “Not Guilty.”

His trial date was set for April 15.

(FOX40 - ‎Feb 20, 2015‎)

Earlier:

• Dog tied to bowling ball drowned in American River