NORTH CAROLINA -- A Kernersville man pleaded guilty to charges that he starved to death two of his dogs.
John S. Laventure, 64, of Meadowbrook Village Lane in Kernersville, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Forsyth Superior Court to two counts of felony animal cruelty. Judge Todd Burke of Forsyth Superior Court consolidated the charges into one and gave Laventure a suspended sentence of 6 to 17 months in prison. He placed Laventure on supervised probation for a period of three years, during which Laventure cannot own any pets.
Laventure was also ordered to pay $500 in fines.
Assistant District Attorney Matt Breeding said in court Wednesday that Laventure’s landlord had contacted authorities in September 2014. Laventure had left the house about a month prior. Animal-control officers found two dogs in a building on the property. One dog was badly decomposed, Breeding said. The other dog had starved to death and was anemic.
The dogs were a husky and a Chihuahua mix. Breeding said Laventure told authorities that he was unable to take care of the dogs and had made arrangements to have a friend pick up the dogs and care for them. But the friend never came. Laventure refused to provide authorities with the friend’s name, Breeding said.
Dan Wanderman, Laventure’s attorney, said Laventure has throat cancer and there is concern that the cancer may have spread. He said Laventure’s main concern right now is his health.
Breeding said in most cases, he would have pushed for the maximum active sentence allowable, but he acknowledged that Laventure has significant health issues.
(Winston-Salem Journal - Sept 9, 2015)
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