Alabama: Brown Pelican Tortured, Killed In Baldwin County

ALABAMA -- Pelicans are more common than boats on the bay around Pelican Point. The goofy looking bird is a favorite among many.

“They out here just trying to eat, just like we are trying to catch some fish to eat,” says angler Donald Burrell, Jr.

So, when a pelican was found dead in a place named after the bird, black electrical tape wrapped around its beak, more tape and rope wrapped around its feet and a wing, there was outrage and shock.

“Anybody that hurts old people, animals, children, wildlife, should be hung up by whatever,” says Kathleen Nazary visiting from Mississippi.

The death is being called torture by some. Fish and Wildlife agents are on the case looking for any information.

 

“Asking us have we seen anybody messing with the birds,” says Burrell who spoke to one of the officers.

“He reported that he found one with the beak and legs taped and a couple with broken wings and buckshot in a couple of 'em.”

Nature can be cruel often resulting in death. But this is different. There is nothing natural about this.

 

 

 

“I cannot imagine anybody’s mentality,” says Nazary. “They have to be sick.”

Alabama Fish and Wildlife agents are actively investigating this case. Anyone with any information is asked to call their local law enforcement agency or Fish and Game at 251-441-5787.

VIDEO NEWS CLIP:

(WKRG - Oct 19, 2017)

Texas: Owners of dog found with injured mouth tightly wrapped with electrical tape claim they know nothing about it

TEXAS -- The owners of Justice, a dog found on June 9 with her snout taped shut, have been found, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said.

Officials began searching for the owners after Justice, a mixed-breed hound, was found with several layers of electrical tape wrapped around her nose and upper jaw near Old Texaco Camp Road.

 

 

Investigators said the tape had been there for a long time and that Justice had severe injuries as a result.

Deputies said after interviewing Justice's owners they concluded that there is no indication either of them harmed the dog in any way, but that it is possible someone took the dog from the residence and released her in the condition in which she was found on June 9.

Yeah, I'm not buying it...

The Sheriff's Office said Justice is still being provided with medical care as it continues searching for the person responsible for her injuries.

 

 

(Click2Houston - June 22, 2017)

Michigan: Teen Jessica Brown, 18, sentenced to a year in the county jail for binding her Shih Tzu's face and feet with electrical tape and then stomping him to death

MICHIGAN -- A Flint teen will spend up to a year behind bars for stomping a dog to death and binding its face and feet with electrical tape as punishment for urinating on clothing.

On Wednesday, May 10, Genesee Circuit Judge Geoffrey L. Neithercut sentenced Jessica Lou Brown, 18, to spend a year in the county jail -- with nearly two month's credit -- for her role in the dog's death.

Typically, inmates only serve 1/3 of their sentence so knock that 12 months down to 8 months and now she's got 2 months 'time served' so she's now at 6 months. Six months - not in prison but county jail for the horrific torture death of this poor little dog.

 

 

 

 

 

"I've been in this business for 31 years and I was grossed out when I read about all of this," said Neithercut. "It's appalling and sickening, and I don't use strong words like that."

Brown's attorney, Kraig Sippell, told the judge that his client was "minimally involved" in the incident.

Sippell claims that Brown -- who was 17 and a high school student at the time of the incident -- was following the lead of her sister's boyfriend, Nathan Chase McCue, who is also charged in the case.

 

 

Sippell said McCue was already charged with domestic violence against Brown's sister, and that the girl followed McCue out into the woods "under the guise that they were there to let the dog run free."

When they got to the park, Sippell claims McCue began stomping on the 7-year-old dog's neck, forcing the girl to partake in the killing and warned her not to tell anyone about the incident.

JUDGE CALLS TORTURING A DOG TO DEATH "YOUTHFUL FOOLISHNESS"

While Neithercut called the dog's death "sickening," he said that he "also recognized youthful foolishness" and granted Brown two years of probation after her jail time under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act.

 

 

 

The act allows a judge to place a defendant between the ages of 17 and 24 in jail or on probation without a conviction. If the defendant successfully completes the terms of the judge's sentence, he or she avoids having a criminal record.

After receiving a tip from Brown's mother, Genesee County Sheriff Robert J. Pickell and his office launched an investigation into the death of the dog, an instance the sheriff called "truly one of the most horrific cases I have seen in my law enforcement career."

In a Facebook post,  the sheriff said that McCue and Brown became upset with Dakota, the mixed-breed Shih Tzu, after the animal urinated on McCue's clothing.

McCue, 21, is also charged with one felony count of killing or torturing an animal. He is currently under forensic investigation for mental health issues, said Sippell, and is scheduled to appear before Genesee District Judge Vikki Bayeh-Haley on Friday, May 12.

(MLive - May 10, 2017)

Earlier:

• Michigan: Police say Jessica Brown and Nathan McCue bound a Shih Tzu's feet and wrapped his entire face in electrical tape and then stomped him to death. His crime? He peed on some clothes lying on the floor.
• Michigan: "I had no idea that my daughter was involved in this. I did not raise a child like this," said mother of Jessica Brown, 18, who is accused of taking her Shih Tzu, wrapping his legs and his entire face in electrical tape then stomping him to death and dumping his body on the side of the road

South Carolina: William Dodson gets no extra jail time for duct taping his dog's muzzle shut causing her face to swell like balloon

SOUTH CAROLINA -- A South Carolina man who wrapped electrical tape around a dog's muzzle to stop her from barking has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The Associated Press reports William Dodson's sentence Friday represented the state's maximum for animal cruelty. However, Dodson's sentence for mistreating Caitlyn won't extend his prison time.

The 43-year-old man was sentenced a day earlier in federal court to 15 years on a gun charge stemming from a traffic stop months before Caitlyn was found in spring 2015.

Under a plea agreement, the two sentences will run simultaneously.

This is also referred to as sentences running concurrently aka at the same time. 

The judge could have ordered the sentences to run consecutively aka one after the other. 

 

This would have meant a 20 year sentence and would have made more of an impact - that Dodson was sitting in a jail cell for _ amount of time BECAUSE OF WHAT HE DID TO THIS POOR DOG.

Instead, it was, "Ok plead guilty to doing this, but don't worry, we won't give you any extra time for it."

"I wish I could give you more," Judge Markley Dennis told Dodson in court Friday.

Still, the sentence sends a message that animal cruelty won't be tolerated, said Charleston Animal Society's director of anti-cruelty and outreach, Aldwin Roman.

"We're going to do everything we can within the law to stop this, and then we're going to go beyond and change our laws and make them stronger," he told The Post and Courier of Charleston.

Dodson, who was free on bail from the traffic stop, had chained Caitlyn outside after wrapping her muzzle nine times. But the then-15-month-old Staffordshire pit bull terrier mix escaped and was found in critical condition.

The tape cut off blood flow to her tongue. Veterinarians at the Animal Society unraveled it after an estimated 36 hours.

"I remember seeing the fear... in her eyes," Roman said. "That was 36 hours of torture."

The case sparked international outrage after photos of Caitlyn's tightly bound snout spread on social media. She required repeated surgeries and lost part of her tongue. Her snout is still scarred.

Dodson pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty last August.

Charleston Animal Society CEO Joe Elmore said at the time that Caitlyn was living with a new family but continued to suffer from anxiety and stress.

Dodson still faces state drug charges stemming from the March 2015 traffic stop. Prosecutors say he tossed a loaded pistol, along with cocaine and marijuana, as he ran from North Charleston police officers.

(ABC11 - March 25, 2017)

Earlier:

• SC dog found with muzzle taped shut, reward offered
• Dog sold for $10 returns to previous owners with muzzle tied shut with electrical tape
• William Leonard Dodson arrested for taping dog's mouth shut

Michigan: "I had no idea that my daughter was involved in this. I did not raise a child like this," said mother of Jessica Brown, 18, who is accused of taking her Shih Tzu, wrapping his legs and his entire face in electrical tape then stomping him to death and dumping his body on the side of the road

MICHIGAN -- For the first time, the Genesee County sheriff is speaking out about one of the 'most horrific cases' he's investigated throughout his career.

We know two people are facing charges, accused of torturing and killing a dog.

The sheriff was able to give a better indication of the timeline and more details on the torture the animal endured.

Sheriff Robert Pickell said the dog had been dead for about 10 days before its lifeless body was found by a 13-year-old boy, who remains shaken up from the gruesome discovery.

A 7-year-old Shih Tzu named Dakota was found dead last week in Vienna Tonwhip with his legs and head bound together by electrical tape.

His neck was stomped on and his body tied to a tree.

Pickell charged Nathan McCue and Jessica Brown on Wednesday. Thursday, he spoke out.

"I've never seen the torture that this dog went through and then, it wasn't enough to suffocate, to stomp on its neck and break its neck,” he said.

ABC12's Ann Pierret learned through speaking with Brown's mother that Dakota was a family dog who grew in her home since he was a puppy. Dakota was no longer in the mom's care, but the sheriff says in the care of McCue.

"We’re concerned because Dakota was urinating, urinated on him, so Brown and McCue took him from the residence and while they were walking, they decided to kill him,” Pickell said.

Brown's mom asked us to conceal her identity, but tells us she had no idea her daughter could be involved in this. She started piecing the story together and recalled a phone call from her oldest daughter, McCue's girlfriend, saying Dakota was now with an older lady.

She kept digging for answers and eventually had the heartbreaking task of identifying the dog.

"I went down to animal control, looked at the dog, discovered he had the belly button hernia, and I said, 'Yes, that's him,’” she said.

Pickell says Brown's mom is a hero here, helping to crack the case, but her concern now is the safety of her grandchild. She previously reported abuse in the home to CPS.

"She reported it simply because she was concerned about her grandchildren. If they would do that to a dog, what would they do to her grandchildren, and we know that McCue has a history of violence,” Pickell said.

The sheriff wants to see much stronger penalties for cases like this. He's planning to advocate in our state's capitol for such measures and encourages everyone else to do the same.

If convicted, McCue and Brown could be sentenced to four years in prison.

UPDATE: (03/15/17) - The Genesee County Sheriff is calling it one of the most horrific cases of dog abuse he's seen.

21-year-old Nathan McCue and 18-year-old Jessica Brown are each facing a 4-year felony for torturing and killing an animal.

The 7-year-old Shih Tzu was found dead with its face and feet bound by electrical tape in Vienna Township.

The Sheriff believes the dog had been dead for some time.

Wednesday night, we spoke with the woman who turned them in.

She wanted to remain anonymous, but tells us she heard about the case on the news, searched online for the disturbing photo and realized it was her family dog, Dakota.

Brown is actually one of her daughters, McCue is her older daughter's boyfriend.

"As soon as he'd seen you, he would just prance his little paws around and jump on your leg and just smile and just be happy," she explained.

 

The Shih-Tzu had been in the woman's family since he was born. She had to give Dakota up in her divorce, but he ended up in her oldest daughter's home.

"They were raised with this dog. He was a family dog. My oldest daughter has senior pictures with him. It just hurts. He did not deserve this," Brown's mother said.

The Genesee County Sheriff says her oldest daughter's boyfriend, 21-year-old Nathan McCue, and her daughter, 18-year-old Jessica Brown, are responsible for killing Dakota and dumping his body.

He was found on the side of the road last week with his legs, face and head held together with electrical tape.

"I had no idea that my daughter was involved in this. I did not raise a child like this," she said.

As soon as Brown's mother heard about the abuse, she feared McCue was responsible.

She had just called CPS about the dog's abuse, concerned about her Grandbaby in McCue's home.

"I told them that the dog was urinating on the floor, he was pooping on the deck, he was not being properly let out, he was not being fed," she said. "If they did this to this dog, my fear is my Grandbaby."

Another innocent life that gave her the courage to speak up against her family.

"I feel they deserve it. If they did this they deserve it. I can't stand up for somebody that does this. I can't," she added.

Brown's mother hasn't spoken to her children or McCue since she saw the photos. She tells us she's still in disbelief, she can barely sleep at night.

(ABC12 - March 15, 2017)

Earlier:

• Michigan: Police say Jessica Brown and Nathan McCue bound a Shih Tzu's feeet and wrapped his entire face in electrical tape and then stomped him to death. His crime? He peed on some clothes lying on the floor.

Michigan: Police say Jessica Brown and Nathan McCue bound a Shih Tzu's feet and wrapped his entire face in electrical tape and then stomped him to death. His crime? He peed on some clothes lying on the floor.

MICHIGAN --  Sheriff Robert Pickell took to social media Wednesday night with new details after a pair of Genesee County residents were arraigned on animal cruelty charges following the discovery of a dead dog over the weekend.

Jessica Lou Brown, 18, and Nathan Chase McCue, 21, were arraigned March 15 by Genesee District Judge Mark McCabe via video from the Genesee County Jail on one felony charge each of killing and torturing an animal.

 

A pair of photos posted by Pickell over the weekend of the dead mixed-breed Shih Tzu found on March 8 approximately 40 yards from the South Creek Mobile Home Park in Vienna Township with its mouth and feet bound with black electrical tape.

In his new post, the sheriff says the 7-year-old dog's name is Dakota and alleges the couple became upset after the animal urinated on McCue's clothing, which led to the bounding with tape and subsequent police investigation.

"Both defendants are alleged to have bound Dakota's legs, head, and face with electrical tape, and then proceeded to stomp on the dog's neck, ultimately causing his death," according to Pickell. 

 

The pair were turned in to police by someone they were familiar with.

"The individual who ultimately called our office with the tip that led to these arrests was actually the mother of one of the defendants (Brown)," said Pickell. "I applaud her courage to do the right thing, and understand the concern she had for others in that household, including her own grandchildren."

The pair faces a potential sentence of up to four years each in state prison.

Brown and McCue spoke only briefly to answer the judge's questions and request court-appointed attorneys. McCue appeared on-screen wearing an anti-suicide smock.

Bond for both is set at $10,000 each, with the stipulation of zero contact with, ownership of, or possession of any animal, McCabe said.

After holding him down, they wrapped the electrical tap around
his legs and then wrapped it completely around his head so he
couldn't breathe. Then they stomped on him, killing him. Then
they left his poor little body in the woods to rot.

Pickell has called this instance "truly one of the most horrific cases I have seen in my law enforcement career, and I am heartened by the caring and swift response I saw from our community."

"I urge you to continue to call my office to report these types of cases, so law enforcement can investigate," he said. They must be handled seriously, and justice served accordingly."

A probable cause conference for Brown and McCue is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, March 23 before Genesee District Judge Vikki Bayeh-Haley.

 

(MLive - March 15, 2017)

Canada: Michael Hill, 32, pleads guilty to taping small dog's face, binding his legs and abandoning him to die

CANADA -- A man who taped a dog’s muzzle shut, bound its legs and and left it to die in a field will spend the next two years in a federal penitentiary.

Michael Earl Hill, 32, entered a surprise guilty plea Monday to a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. Hill had been scheduled for a closed door meeting about his case, but insisted on pleading guilty instead, said lawyer Ahmad Ammar.

After his release, Hill, who formerly lived in Kingston, will be on probation for three years and is banned from having a pet for 25 years.

“There is no other way to describe this act; it’s a despicable act of depravity,” assistant Crown attorney Craig Houle told the court in Windsor.

Denied bail last month, Hill has spent the time since his Dec. 18 arrest in solitary confinement. His lawyer says Hill has been segregated from the rest of the inmates at the South West Detention for his own protection.

Court heard Monday and at Hill’s bail hearing the history of the 13-pound dog Hill abused. Jessica Hems and Adam Esipu had given the dog to Hill on Dec. 15 to surrender to the humane society. The couple had a newborn daughter who was allergic to the seven-year-old Patterdale Terrier named Nos.

Hill took $60 from the couple to cover the fee to drop off a dog at the shelter. Two days later, Hems and Esipu were subjects of an intense social media campaign aimed at finding the dog’s owners.

Dean Cresswell took to Facebook after finding the little dog in a field beside the Canadian Tire on Walker Road on Dec. 17. The humane society renamed the dog Justice and a campaign called Justice for Justice was born. By Dec. 18, Esipu was at the humane society turning Hill in.

Cresswell presented the court with a petition signed by 65,000 people calling for the maximum sentence in the case coupled with a lifetime ban on pet ownership.

Ontario court Justice Micheline Rawlins explained the maximum ban allowed by law is 25 years and that maximum sentences are reserved for “the worst offender in the worst circumstances.”

Hill has no previous convictions for animal abuse. However, he does have a long record that includes convictions for robberies and domestic assault. He was paroled in 2009 after being convicted in 2005 of two counts of assault with a weapon. He breached his parole in 2010 and was jailed again. He’s been free since 2011.

He had been living in Kingston until five months ago. The mother of his child has family in Essex County, so she helped him find work at a local landscaping and snow removal company owned by Esipu’s father.

Fred Doughty said he worked with Hill. He and the Esipu family helped Hill settle in the area, finding Hill a place to live in Amherstburg with another co-worker.

“It’s a family business. We’re all family. We treated him like family. For him to do this…” Doughty said outside the courtroom, cutting off his sentence as tears of anger swelled in his eyes.

Moments earlier, Doughty had stormed out of the courtroom after swearing at Hill. Despite the judge warning the packed courtroom outbursts would not be tolerated, Doughty said he could not restrain himself.

Rawlins told the packed courtroom she has a dog given away by its previous owners because of allergies, too.

“Is an animal’s life only worth $60?” she asked.

Rawlins ordered Hill to get psychological counselling. “People who become serial killers begin with small animals,” she said.

Hill is also prohibited from possessing weapons during his probation and he must provide a blood sample for the national DNA databank police use to solve crime.

In a similar local animal abuse case, a Belle River man in 2014 was sentenced to four months in jail for killing a dog by taping its muzzle shut.

(The Kingston Whig-Standard - Feb 2, 2016)

Earlier:

• Tiny dog bound by electrical tape and left to die behind Windsor shopping centre
• Amherstburg man, Michael Earl Hill, 32, arrested in dog cruelty case