IDAHO -- A Priest River woman accused of slamming a puppy to the ground in order to teach it a lesson is pleading not guilty.
Megan Ranae Smith’s plea sets the stage for a jury trial in Bonner County Magistrate Court. A trial date has not been set yet, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository.
Smith, 23, is charged with cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor.
Deputy Kimberly Kempton noted in her report, dated October 6th, that she was parked at the convenience store Mac’s Gas & Grocery when she saw three young women walking to a parked Honda Civic.
One the subjects, later identified as Smith reached into the rear passenger side of the car and withdrew a black-and-white puppy, the report said.
“She lifted the puppy up over her head with both hands and slammed it hard against the asphalt parking lot,” Kempton recalled in her report.
Smith allegedly kicked and punched the puppy as Kempton intervened.
Smith, 23, told the deputy the dog chewed up a fishing pole and she was trying to "teach the animal a lesson", Kempton’s affidavit said. Kempton advised Smith it is a crime in Idaho to beat a dog.
The beating brought Smith’s companions, which included a 7-year-old girl, to tears, court documents indicate.
A pretrial settlement agreement in the case is being proposed. In exchange for a guilty plead, the state will recommend a suspended jail term, two days on the sheriff’s labor program and a year of unsupervised probation, according to court documents.
The proposed settlement agreement expires at Smith’s pretrial hearing.
(Bonner County Daily Bee - Dec 23, 2016)
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