In handing down Anthony Hultine’s punishment, Superior Court Judge Maria Elena Cruz sentenced him to 36 months of supervised probation for criminal damage, which he pleaded guilty to last month in a plea agreement with prosecutors.
As for the amount of his restitution, Judge Cruz also ordered that Hultine pay $1,866 to the Humane Society of Yuma and another $821 to the Yuma County Health Department.
Prosecutor James Eustace, who was present during the sentencing, informed the court that the restitution to the Humane Society was to reimburse the agency for paying the cost of a veterinarian to treat the dog when it was brought to the shelter.
Hultine’s is to pay his restitution in $100 monthly payments beginning on Nov. 1, and that the entire amount must be paid off before his probation ends.
While Judge Cruz could have ordered to serve some jail time as a condition of his probation, she decided not to impose any, to which Hultine thanked her, in what was the only time he spoke during the hearing.
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| How can she sleep at night??! |
A large group of community members attended Hultine’s sentencing, with some wearing t-shirts with the message “Be Humane” written on the front.
After the hearing Executive Director Annette Lagunas, of the Humane Society of Yuma, said she had mixed feelings about the outcome of the case, adding she was disappointed with the sentence Hultine received.
“I’m super grateful to the community and the outcry they have shown throughout the case in supporting Brady,” Lagunas said. “It really shows that Yuma County’s residents are passionate about the animals in our community.”
Lagunas said with the case now resolved the Humane Society will continue focusing its efforts on teaching children to be humane to animals.
“It is pushing the theory that if people are kind to animals they will be kind to people,” Lagunas said. “And unfortunately, if people are not kind to animals they wont be kind to other people.”
In May, deputies with the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office met with the dog’s owner at the time, who told them that he had found the dog as a stray and decided to keep her after he couldn’t find her previous owner.
The owner also told deputies that he had traveled out of town and left the dog with his roommate, identified as Hultine.
The dog was later found on April 26 in the 12400 block of East County 8th Street by a second person, who discovered that it had a gunshot wound. That person then made posts on social media in an attempt to locate her owner. The owner saw those posts and went to claim her.
The dog, later named Brady, had suffered fractures to her maxillary sinus cavity, maxillary premolars and mandible. Those injuries were consistent with that of a gunshot wound, and the dog was taken to a local veterinary clinic where she underwent surgery. Brady died the following month of a seizure.
On May 4, deputies served a search warrant at the home of the roommate suspected of shooting the dog and found weapons and ammunition. As a result, Hultine was arrested and booked into the Yuma County Detention Center on felony charges of animal cruelty.
(Yuma Sun - Sep 23, 2015)
Earlier:
WTF is wrong with these judges??? Did she have sex with the perp? I can't even begin to fathom why this sick freak would only get probation.
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