MASSACHUSETTS -- An incident Marshfield police investigated last fall involving two women out walking dogs in Rexhame is going back to court.
Barbara Bennett, 66, unleashed two 80-pound pit bulls on Kathy Lavrentios, 54, and the two smaller dogs she was walking, according to Marshfield police.
Bennett and her attorney, David Nagle, however, say the incident has been blown out of proportion. Nagle said Lavrentios’ allegations are motivated by a longstanding dispute surrounding access to Rexhame Beach.
“It is undisputed that no dogs were injured in this incident, and it is our position that the whole matter is colossally overblown,” he said.
Both sides await a clerk’s hearing scheduled for February after police refiled charges that were initially dismissed in court at the arraignment stage.
Controversy is not new to the Rexhame neighborhood.
In a Land Court decision issued on New Years Eve 2014, Judge Harry Grossman ruled the town owns “superior title” to a contested section of the beach, including the tidal flats and at least a part of the upland area.
He ruled Winslow Avenue is a public way, while Ames Avenue, Raleigh Road, Kent Avenue and Waterman Avenue are private. Some debate centers on who can use which roads to access the beach. Plaintiffs in the lengthy court battle are appealing the decision.
According to the police report, Bennett allegedly let the dogs loose after telling Lavrentios she wasn't supposed to be walking on the private Ames Avenue where the two encountered each other.
Following a two-week investigation, police charged Bennett with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of animal cruelty.
A judge, who questioned the animal cruelty charges, agreed to dismiss all the charges at Nagle’s request. Police prosecutor Michael MacKinnon said he acquiesced at that time with the intent to refile the charges.
The upcoming hearing, which is not open to the public, will determine if there’s probable cause for the complaint to issue to the courtroom for the arraignment stage, MacKinnon said.
While Marshfield Police said filing charges curbs dangerous behavior, Nagle called the allegations “utter nonsense.”
“The evidence will show it was the other dogs who were in fact off-leash and advanced toward the dogs that my client was walking with a leash,” he said.
Nagle called the dogs Bennett was walking “docile creatures,” and said they were “medium-sized” terriers, not pit bulls.
Animal Control Officer Matthew Bates confirmed the dogs were pit bulls, each weighing about 80 pounds. He said they were not aggressive, and added if they had been, the victim could have been severely hurt or killed.
If the incident happened as the police report indicates, Bates said it appears the pit bulls were commanded to act in an aggressive manner.
But Bennett referred to the incident as merely a “dog squabble on the street.”
“It is unfortunate that this neighbor chose to walk her small dogs, one off leash, close to me when I was walking larger dogs, who were only staying with me for a weekend,” she said.
Lavrentios denies walking the two dogs without leashes. She owns one of the dogs, Roxy, while the other, Henry, belonged to a friend.
While the court issued a temporary, 10-day harassment prevention order after the incident, the judge did not grant Lavrentios a permanent order against Bennett -- a decision she said was disappointing.
“It’s a horrible thing, to live in an neighborhood like this, and be five or six houses from the beach, and live in fear that you’re going to get attacked by a vicious dog trying to walk to the beach,” she said.
According to the police report, Lavrentios was walking the two dogs on leashes on Ames Avenue when she saw Bennett, with the two pit bulls, about 50 feet ahead. Bennett told her the dogs were not friendly, and Lavrentios said she would keep back a safe distance, the report said.
The two then debated whether Lavrentios could walk on Ames Avenue.
"With my deeded beach rights, I should be able to walk on any of the roads that are there by virtue of the fact that my home is in the [Rexhame Terrace] subdivision,” Lavrentios said.
Police Chief Phil Tavares confirmed they both live in the subdivision and can both walk on its roads.
According to the police report, as the two women continued down Ames, Bennett asked Lavrentios her name, which she gave. But when asked, Bennett would not give her name.
Bennett then let go of the pit bulls’ leashes, and they charged Lavrentios and the dogs with her, going at the smaller dogs’ necks and knocking Lavrentios off balance, the report said.
After about two minutes, Bennett pulled the pit bulls away for the first time, the report said. Police noted she let the dogs loose and took back control a total of four times during the incident.
When police later arrived at her home, Lavrentios was “crying and visibly shaking,” according to the report.
Neither she nor the dogs she was walking were bitten during the incident, though she took the dogs to be checked out at an animal hospital. She then went to South Shore Hospital, where she was diagnosed with a cervical strain, according to the police report. She previously had a cervical fusion in her neck and spine.
“In trying to get these massive dogs off of me and my dogs, I had to pull with all my might, and it’s caused me tremendous damage to my neck,” she said.
A resident of Ames Avenues identified Bennett to Lavrentios shortly after the alleged incident. Police later spoke with Bennett, who told officers the pit bulls escaped her grasp only because they were being attacked, according to the report.
Bates said Animal Control eventually obtained a name and Plymouth address for the owners of the dogs Bennett was walking. The owners, whom he didn't identify, have not returned his phone calls.
Bates said he will conduct further investigation on the owners and the dogs in the future. While the owners would likely not face criminal charges, they could become involved civilly, Tavares said.
According to the report, Bennett has had previous confrontations with neighbors on the streets in the Rexhame area.
Before the Oct. 17 incident, Bates said another resident told Animal Control about a run-in with Bennett in September 2014, but did not press charges. At the time, it had appeared to be a possible miscommunication between the two people, he said.
In the course of investigating the Oct. 17 incident, police spoke to other residents of the area who reported having arguments with Bennett, some of them just verbal and some while she was walking other dogs.
Tavares called Bennett’s alleged actions “criminally reckless.”
Many Rexhame residents are passionate about beach access, rights and other related issues, Tavares said, adding it’s unfortunate problems can arise as a result.
“You can’t release dogs after people that you don’t agree with what they’re doing. You handle it properly. And clearly this was an irrational way, a dangerous, a reckless way and a criminal way to do things, which has a consequence to it,” he said.
Bates said using dogs as a weapon is unfair to the animal, which doesn’t know any better, but also dangerous.
“It is the exact same thing as if you took out a gun, a knife, or a bat,” he said.
According to police, Bennett identified herself as secretary of the Rexhame Terrace Association and indicated she takes it upon herself to enforce its rules, especially on the private roads. The report said she has referred to herself as “The Enforcer,” a term Bates confirmed she used.
Charlie Pesko, the association’s president, confirmed her role as secretary but said no one has heard her referred to as “The Enforcer,” calling it “absolutely ludicrous.” Bennett also said it was “ludicrous.”
Pesko said her alleged actions have nothing to do with the association.
“It’s a very unfortunate incident that happened, and everybody feels bad about it,” he said.
(Wicked Local Acton - Jan 6, 2016)
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