Friday, June 3, 2016

Ohio: Judge Shane Leuthold could have sentenced Carl Hardymon to 90 days in jail for starving his dogs to death, but he didn't

OHIO -- After being found negligent in the care of his dogs, Carl James Hardymon, 26, was sentenced in Crawford County Municipal Court on Wednesday.

Pleading down to a lesser charge of one count of animal cruelty, Hardymon was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 75 days suspended - meaning just 15 days for all the suffering he inflicted on these dogs.

Hardymon will serve the 15 days at the Community Alternative Center in Mansfield. Judge Shane Leuthold also ordered that Hardymon can’t own a cat, dog, or livestock for three years.


After Hardymon was given his sentence Judge Leuthold gave parting words to the defendant.

“I will say, Mr. Hardymon, at first blush you may think these are harsh,” Leuthold said. “I normally would hand out a 90-day sentence. Animals don’t have the ability to call for help. They can’t pick up the phone and call for help. They can’t run over to the neighbor’s and tell them what is going on. I think you should consider yourself lucky.”

“Going forward when dealing with animals, this is a life lesson learned,” Leuthold said. He recommended that Hardymon have a backup plan in place next time if he cannot provide proper care.

Judge Leuthold is a moron. You think with this sweetheart deal of 15 days in the county jail that this will put the fear of God in him to NEVER ABUSE AN ANIMAL AGAIN? People who shoplift from Walmart get longer sentences.

Hardymon was also given a $500 fine and three years of non-reporting community control.


Hardymon was charged after the local Humane Society agent responded to a call and found one deceased Beagle mix and another severely malnourished.

The second dog, a female beagle-mix, was seized by the Humane Society of Crawford County.
Animal Control officer Tami Rike arrived at the property and noticed that the house was burnt out. Upon further investigation, Rike found the female mix tied in the garage by a chain that was wrapped around debris and trash.

“It looked like it hadn’t eaten in quite some time,” Rike said as she described seeing the dog’s spine, ribs, and hip bones.

The other dog, Rike said, was not moving and was still chained to the garage wall. She found it deceased and burrowed among two car seats.

“It appeared to be dead for quite some time,” Rike testified.

So Judge Leuthold could have given him 90 days in the county jail, but felt sorry for him and only gave him 15 days. He likely even let him serve them on the weekends so as not to disrupt his personal life.

What kind of sentence is that? This poor dog suffered every minute of every hour of every day while chained to the garage, literally dying for something to eat. How many times have we missed a meal and our stomachs are growling and we proclaim, "I'm starving!". These dogs were literally starving - and yet couldn't get away because CARL HARDYMON had them in chains. He sat inside his warm house stuffing his face at every meal, KNOWING THESE DOGS WERE OUTSIDE, SUFFERING, STARVING AND DYING - AND HE DIDN'T CARE.

Shame on you, Judge Shane Leuthold. You are no champion of animals; you are an embarrassment to the bench.

Crawford County Municipal Court convictions-June 14, 2016
Carl J. Hardymon, 26, Bucyrus, cruelty to animals, fined $750, sentenced to 90 days in jail with 75 suspended.

CARL JAMES HARDYMON
Race: White
Gender: Male
Birthdate: 03/15/1990
3489 RIDGETON RD
BUCYRUS, OH 44820

COMMENT:

Nancy Crouse • 2 years ago
should have put him under the jail for his 15 days with his dead dog and see how he feels, with only bread and water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Crawford County Now - June 3, 2016)

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