New Hampshire: Judge denies Epping Andrew Freisinger's bid to throw out animal cruelty conviction

NEW HAMPSHIRE -- A judge rejected an Epping’s man bid to throw out a jury’s verdict that convicted him of shooting a neighbor’s pit bull in his backyard.

Judge N. William Delker concluded that the defense for Andrew Freisinger, 44, was essentially making the same one made to jurors at the close of his trial — that the evidence didn’t support the crime.

A jury convicted Freisinger, of 80 St. Laurent Road, of a felony count of animal cruelty after a trial in late May, but acquitted him on a count of reckless conduct. Freisinger allegedly shot the dog with a 9mm handgun after the dog got loose and ran on his property.

The animal was injured, but survived.

“In this case, the jury’s verdict was not unreasonable, or clearly against the weight of the evidence,” Delker said in a court order.

Defense lawyer Jonathan Cohen argued in court papers that evidence shows is client’s “belief in the threat posed by the pit bull was reasonable.” The dog had killed two of his chickens prior to the Sept. 6 shooting, including one the night beforehand.

Delker said that jurors were instructed to not only weigh the evidence, but how to evaluate the credibility of witnesses.

“While the defendant testified that his intent when he shot the dog was to protect himself, his wife, and their birds, the jury could reasonably have rejected that explanation as self-serving and inconsistent with the defendant’s actions,” Delker said in the order. “The defendant claimed that he was concerned for his wife and the birds. But he took no actions to check on their well-being. Instead, he simply sat on the front stoop and watched as Mya (the dog) ran up and down the street.”

Freisinger testified at the close of his trial that “he could have easily shot this dog many times if he wanted to. Instead, he fired a single round and lowered his weapon after the threat had been neutralized,” Cohen noted.

“The jury’s verdict suggests that they did not find (Freisinger’s) testimony that the dog posed a threat to him, his wife, or their poultry credible,” Assistant County Attorney Stephanie Johnson said in court papers.

The jury heard a police interview where Freisinger was questioned whether the dog was coming at him before he fired on it. The dog was struck by a bullet from the side of a jaw with the round exiting out the side of its mouth. Freisinger maintained on the witness stand and in statements to police that the dog was “angling toward him” at the time. Freisinger will be sentenced on Aug. 9.

(Union Leader - July 14, 2016)