Jury finds Ryan Watenpaugh guilty of domestic violence, animal cruelty

CALIFORNIA -- A jury found Ryan Watenpaugh guilty on charges of domestic violence, stalking and animal cruelty on Friday, ending a trial that spanned more than a month with testimony and delays.

Shasta County Superior Court Judge Gregory Gaul placed Watenpaugh in custody of Shasta County Marshals after dismissing the jury Friday afternoon.

The jury found Watenpaugh guilty on seven charges that ranged from corporal injury to a former cohabitant, false imprisonment, cruelty to an animal and possession of an assault weapon. Gaul went on to call Watenpaugh’s actions depraved.

Ryan Watenpaugh

“I’m not comfortable with (Watenpaugh) being out of custody,” Gaul said, referring to the safety of the victim and witnesses involved in the case.

Defense attorney Eric Berg requested that his client be made eligible to be free until his sentencing as he had no prior record, but prosecutors argued that Watenpaugh posed a serious flight risk and a threat to the public.

Prosecutors paraphrased a threatening text message Watenpaugh sent his ex-girlfriend during their relationship that said, “He was going to make a scene that would end up in the paper.”

Along with the domestic violence charges, Watenpaugh was found guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend’s dog, chopping off its paws and leaving them on her front porch.

During the trial jurors viewed images of injuries inflicted on the victim by Watenpaugh along with images of the severed paws and a handwritten note left on her bed after Watenpaugh broke into her home without her knowledge. The trial, which began July 7, saw several delays including a pause when the woman revealed that she had a diary that described her relationship with Watenpaugh.

 

The woman described in court her relationship with Watenpaugh and how he became violent after financial problems forced him out of his Jones Valley home. On two occasions Watenpaugh assaulted the woman and prevented her from leaving their home. The woman called Redding Police after her dog’s severed paws were placed on her front porch by Watenpaugh.

Watenpaugh shortly afterward sent her a text message alluding to having served her the Pomeranian named Bear for dinner one night. DNA tests on leftovers from that meal showed the meat to be pork.

Watenpaugh was arrested Sept., 11, 2014 according to his defense attorney Berg.

Berg laid out a defense that said the woman lied to the jury and police.

“There was no evidence that he (Watenpaugh) committed those crimes,” Berg said. After deliberately for about four hours, jurors notified the court at 1:40 p.m. that they had reached a verdict in the case and found Watenpaugh guilty of all charges, including two counts of felony false imprisonment, felony stalking, animal cruelty and possession of a proscribed assault weapon.

One juror, who did not wish to be named, called the trial bizarre and “a real roller coaster.”

Watenpaugh is looking at seven years in state prison when he is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 16.

(Redding.com - Aug 28, 2015)