In January, state Department of Environmental Conservation officers charged James W. Brown, 80, and Clint K. Moosman, 53, both of Seneca Falls, with 12 counts of setting the traps larger than 6 inches and failing to identify the traps as required by law.
State Department of Environmental Conservation Officer Scott Angotti said the types of traps found are used to catch animals such as coyotes, foxes and raccoons. The law regarding body-gripping traps of the kind found requires they be put in a box to prevent animals such as dogs and cats from being caught, he added.
The maximum penalty for each of the violations Brown and Moosman — the latter a now-resigned animal control officer for Seneca Falls — face is a $250 fine and/or 15 days in jail.
The charges against the Seneca Falls men were set in motion after the tragedy that struck the Jensen family earlier this year.
On Jan. 7, Laurena Jensen, an 18-year-old Finger Lakes Community College student, was walking her 8-year-old yellow Lab, Molly, outside the fence of the depot in the town of Varick. During their walk, Jensen said she heard the dog, which was on a 6-foot leash, “let out a yelp." She then saw Molly trapped by the neck and choking.
“I can’t explain how traumatic it was,” Jensen said in January.
She frantically tried to remove the clamp from around Molly’s neck as the pet coughed. After failing to successfully free her pet, she called 911 and her father. State troopers, DEC officers and her father, Brian Jensen, arrived in 20 minutes, but not in time to save Molly.
An investigation by the DEC turned up 11 additional traps.
Brian Jensen was in court on Friday. He said that Molly suffered in the trap for around 5 minutes before she died.
The father expressed disgust about the situation. He said that his daughter still hears the sounds associated with the dog being trapped, and that she goes to counseling to deal with the trauma of seeing her beloved pet die in front of her.
“I want to see the maximum penalty for them both,” said Brian Jensen of Moosman and Brown.
His wife, Carrie Jensen, with tears in her eyes, showed photos of Molly outside the courthouse. One of the photos had Molly lying with her 10-year-old mother Sadie Jane, who is also feeling the loss, according to the couple.
“She still calls out for her baby by her pen,” Carrie Jensen said.
Brian Jensen added that they have raised Labs for 25 years and Molly was supposed to birth more litters to carry on the line.
“Our dog was priceless,” Brian Jensen said.
As he spoke, Brown and Moosman exited the courtroom.
“It ain’t over yet,” Jensen said while pointing at the men as they drove away from the courthouse.
The Jensens want more of a punishment than the violation charges the two men received.
According to Melissa Lewis, cruelty caseworker with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, the family’s wishes should be within reach.
In a letter to the DEC and Seneca County officials, including Sheriff Timothy Luce and District Attorney Barry Porsch, Lewis cited a section of the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law section 353, referring to animal cruelty.
WHY WON'T THEY CHARGE THEM WITH MISDEMEANOR ANIMAL CRUELTY?
Lewis said a misdemeanor portion law applies to the trapping case. This portion of the law applies when the person charged did not intend to hurt the animal, she said.
“Upon conviction, we would push the maximum penalty of one year in jail and $1,000 fines,” Lewis said.
However, according to the DEC, "elements in this case do not support a charge of aggravated animal cruelty charges under the Ag and Markets Law."
Seneca County First Assistant District Attorney Mark Sienkiewicz, who has been assigned to prosecute the case, pointed out on Friday that there are no such animal cruelty charges in the works for Moosman and Brown to his knowledge.
“All I have is what’s in front of me — the tickets,” he said after Friday’s hearing.
The Jensens expressed frustration because attempts to contact DA Porsch about the case have been met with no response. Sienkiewicz noted that in a case involving tickets, as this case is, the family wouldn’t be contacted.
“The men are charged with having an illegal trap — so that’s the charge,” Sienkiewicz said. “Unlike a murder charge, where you have a victim, the illegal trap is much like fishing without a license. So, just as there is no victim when you are fishing without a license, the illegal trap doesn’t have a victim.”
Porsch was unavailable for comment after Friday’s hearing.
Meanwhile, the Jensens don't intend to give up.
At issue is the state of the former Seneca Army Depot — including who is in charge and who has access.
For decades a military storage site for bombs and ammunition, the property is owned by the Seneca County Industrial Development Agency. The IDA opened a bidding process in December to sell 7,000 acres of the depot to get it on the tax rolls. Since the depot closed in 2000, the Army Corps of Engineers has maintained the site during environmental cleanup operations. The Army was due to be done with that by the end of 2015, leaving the land and its white deer herd under new owners.
 |
| THIS COYOTE IS STILL ALIVE: Three days after Molly was killed, Brian Jensen found a coyote trapped along the depot fence. The coyote, still alive, was caught in the same kind of body-gripping trap, though a larger type, a Conibear 330. The coyote was euthanized after Jensen called a DEC officer |
Seneca County IDA Director Bob Aronson said the only people legally allowed on the property are law enforcement or those who have permission from the Army or IDA. If a person or organization gets permission from the Army or IDA, they then need to sign out a key from the Army, or be escorted onto the property by the Army or the IDA.
"A person or organization needs to have a valid reason to access Depot property, and even then, access is not guaranteed," Aronson said.
The Army is responsible for management of the Depot property.
"However, the Army's management services are being reduced to areas of the depot where remediation is still occurring," Aronson said. "The recent incident with the pet dog occurred on depot property that is being retained by the Army. At this time, the Army is still the caretaker for depot property."
Both Brown and Moosman are slated to return to court at 10:30 a.m. May 27.
(Daily Messenger - March 25, 2016)
Earlier:
- New York: Someone is setting deadly traps, killing dogs. But the main question is: why are traps like this allowed for ANY animal?
- New York: Instead of charging Clint Moosman, 53, and James Brown, 80, with animal cruelty for killing Molly Rose, they're issued illegal trapping tickets. By the way, not mentioned is the fact that Moosman is currently employed as a Nuisance Animal Control officer for Seneca Falls.
- New York: Clint K Moosman, who killed Molly Rose, is outed as an animal control officer for Seneca Falls
- New York: Animal cruelty charges against Clint Moosman and James Brown sought in depot trapping case
No comments:
Post a Comment