Oklahoma: Tyrone Collins, 26, convicted of dog fighting (animal cruelty), drugs

Offender: Tyrone D. Collins
Alias: Ty Collins
Gender: Male
Race: Black
Height: 5 ft 8 in
Weight: 192 lbs
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Birth Date: 3/6/1973
Age at conviction: 26
OK DOC#: 276859

#1
Court: PAYNE COUNTY COURT
Offense: INSTIGATING OR ENCOURAGING DOGFIGHT
Conviction date: 6/30/1999
Term: 4 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Sentence begins: 7/9/1999
Sentenced ended: 5/2/2001

#2
Court: PAYNE COUNTY COURT
Offense: POSS OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
Conviction date: 6/30/1999
Term: 4 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Sentence begins: 7/9/1999
Sentenced ended: 5/2/2001

#3
Court: PAYNE COUNTY COURT
Offense: POSS OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
Conviction date: 6/30/1999
Term: 4 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Sentence begins: 7/9/1999
Sentenced ended: 5/2/2001

#4
Court: OKLAHOMA COUNTY COURT
Offense: ACCESSORY
Conviction date: 2/17/2000
Term: 5 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Sentence begins: 2/17/2000
Sentenced ended: 4/2/2002

THIS CRIME WAS COMMITTED AFTER HE WAS RELEASED:

#5
Court: LOGAN COUNTY COURT
Offense: DOMESTIC ABUSE
Conviction date: 4 Years, 5 Months
Term:
Term code: P&P SUSPENDED (PROBATION)
Sentence begins: 12/21/2011
Sentenced ended: 5/20/2016

California: Animal cruelty suspect Pamela Miller sues city, saying they're harassing her

CALIFORNIA -- The owner of a Burbank animal shelter charged with abusing and neglecting hundreds of dogs and operating a kennel without a license is countersuing the city for harassing her.

Pamela Miller (aka Pam Miller, Pamela Miller-Sackter, Pam Sackter, Pamela Sackter), owner and operator of Burbank Animal Sanctuary, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court accusing the city of Burbank of violation of her civil rights, false imprisonment, false arrest, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution, defamation, negligence and assault and battery.

The Burbank resident named 24 people in her lawsuit, including a Burbank Municipal Court judge and a number of city officials. She claims authorities violated her civil rights by subjecting her to many warrantless searches of her home, embarrassing her, ruining her reputation and taking pictures only of the kennel areas that had not been cleaned.

City prosecutor Eric Hovatter, who is named in the 26-page complaint filed June 9, declined comment on Thursday when asked about the federal lawsuit. He said only, "I haven't even looked at it."

Miller could not be reached for comment. Messages left at the Millerwood Animal Sanctuary were not returned Thursday.

The city filed a criminal case against Miller in August 1998. The matter was expected to go to trial last week. But Burbank Municipal Court Judge Aklan Kalkin transferred the case to Pasadena Municipal Court after Miller filed the federal lawsuit, because it named Burbank Municipal Judge Rand Rubin.

Authorities were also looking for a public defender to represent Miller because her private attorney, Ira Salzman, was dismissed from the case last week. He cited a conflict of interest.

Miller is representing herself in the federal lawsuit.

Volunteers at Millerwood Animal Sanctuary first complained about Miller in September 1997. They reported to city officials that more than 100 dogs were malnourished and living in filthy, cramped conditions.

The shelter opened in 1993 as a nonprofit organization to rescue and house hard-to-adopt pets, such as pit bulls.

Miller's license to operate a kennel ended in 1998 and the city refused to renew it, Hovatter said. She appealed the decision and her appeal was denied in January.

Burbank animal-control officials estimate Miller continues to house about 120 dogs in violation of city code. In Burbank, a person with more than four dogs must apply for a kennel permit.

The conditions in which Miller's dogs live are "not good to very bad," Hovatter said.

In documents she filed in federal court, Miller accuses former volunteers at her kennel of conspiring against her and launching a campaign to make sure she would lose her license.

Miller calls photographs of the kennel conditions "manufactured" and accuses some of those named in the suit of stealing her dogs.

The lawsuit claims that the purpose of the action was to "manufacture justification" for the Burbank animal-control agency and its superintendent, Fred DeLange, to close down her rescue operation.

DeLange, expected to be a witness in the criminal trial, would say only that he is eager for it to get under way.

The criminal trial is scheduled to begin June 28.

(LA Daily News - June 18, 1999)

California: Pamela Miller, who was running a rescue called Millerwood Animal Sanctuary, to be tried this week on animal cruelty charges

CALIFORNIA -- A Burbank woman whose former business rescued animals and found homes for hard-to-adopt pets is expected to be tried this week on charges that she abused and neglected hundreds of dogs.

Pamela Miller (aka Pam Miller, Pamela Miller-Sackter, Pam Sackter, Pamela Sackter), owner and founder of Millerwood Animal Sanctuary, is charged with four counts of animal cruelty and abuse and 10 city code violations of operating a kennel without a license. Jury selection is expected to get under way today.

Complaints about the kennel were first made to Burbank Animal Control in September 1997, said Eric Hovatter, Burbank city prosecutor. Volunteers at the shelter reported more than a hundred dogs were malnourished and living in filthy, cramped conditions.

The city filed charges against Miller in August 1998. Her license to operate a kennel ended, and the city would not renew her permit, Hovatter said. Miller appealed the decision, and her appeal was denied in January.

Although she no longer operates a business, Miller continues to house about 120 dogs, mainly pit bulls and terriers, on her property, city officials said. Hovatter described the conditions as ``not very good to very bad.''

The operation is no longer a business, he said. It's just "a woman with a lot of dogs.''

However, Burbank's city code requires a person who houses more than four dogs to apply for a kennel permit.

Miller's attorney, Ira Salzman, disagrees with the city's assessment of the kennel conditions and said his client does not belong in a criminal court. The matter should be resolved by a continued zoning and appeal process, he said.

"Pam is a well-meaning individual who is running an animal rescue operation. She's certainly concerned about the welfare of the dogs,'' Salzman said. He and Miller consider the conditions "very good'' in light of the number of dogs that she keeps, he said.

Burbank Animal Control closely monitors the property, said superintendent Fred De Lange. His staff inspects the kennels once a week, he said.

"It's not a good operation. It's dirty, and it's not something we want operating,'' he said.

Although she might clean the cages on some days, she is not maintaining them on a regular basis, Hovatter said. The ideal situation for the city would be to find all of the dogs a good home where they will be fed and cared for, he said.

(LA Daily News - June 9, 1999)

New York: Police fire shot at Pit Bull that ran out and attacked their K9 officer

NEW YORK -- While searching for a missing person in Corona early Monday, cops brought in a police dog, as is normally done.

However, the dog and his handler found themselves in a fix when a pit bull attacked the German shepherd, police said.

The pit bull attacked at 3 a.m. on 97th Place and 55th Ave.

The cops had been searching for a 29-year-old woman when they suddenly had to deal with the ferocious animal, said 110th Precinct police.

The police dog's partner fired a shot at the attacking pit bull.

It was not injured, but it was caught and turned over to the Queens Animal Shelter.

(NY Daily News - June 2, 1999)

Kansas: Sabine Davidson's attorney complains that her murder charge is excessive. Her Rottweilers chased, attacked, mauled and killed 11-year-old Chris Wilson

KANSAS -- The attorney for a woman whose Rottweiler dogs mauled a boy to death two years ago as he waited for the school bus argued Tuesday before the Kansas Supreme Court that the woman's conduct didn't rise to the level of murder.

Keith Sevedge, of Lenexa, who represents Sabine M. Davidson, told the state's high court that Davidson was asleep on a couch when her three Rottweilers escaped from their fenced compound and killed 11-year-old Christopher Wilson on April 24, 1997.

But Geary County Attorney Chris Biggs, of Junction City, said there was considerable evidence presented during Davidson's trial that showed the dogs were dangerous to children, that neighbors had complained to Davidson frequently about the dogs and that the animals had been trained to fight.

"There were lots of warnings," Biggs told the court. "She knew the dogs were dangerous toward children."

Her response to complaints about the dogs was to laugh, he said.

Biggs argued that the evidence was sufficient to support the Geary County jury's verdict.

Sevedge urged the court to overturn Davidson's conviction for unintentional second-degree murder and return the case to Geary County District Court for a new trial with instructions that the maximum charge be involuntary manslaughter.

"I find it incredulous that my client was convicted of this crime," Sevedge told the court.

He said if Davidson had commanded the dogs to go after the boys, that might arguably be the basis for a murder charge.

However, Biggs noted the jury in the Davidson case had received an instruction from the judge on involuntary manslaughter, but chose to convict her of the more serious unintentional second-degree murder charge.

A decision in the case is expected to be handed down July 9.

Davidson, 29, also was convicted of a misdemeanor count of criminal endangerment of a child younger than 18. In March 1998, Davidson was sentenced to 12 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and to one year on the child endangerment charge, with the two sentences to be served simultaneously.

Davidson's husband, Jeffrey, also was charged with unintentional second-degree murder and criminal endangerment of a child, but he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter in April 1998 and received a sentence of five years probation. He is not allowed to own dogs during this probation period.

After Tuesday's arguments, Sevedge said his client had been free on appeal bond since the trial and sentencing, but he declined to say where Davidson lives.

Brian and Violet Wilson, the parents of Christopher Wilson, attended the arguments on Davidson's appeal to be there for their son, they said.

The attack on Christopher Wilson occurred as he and his 9-year-old brother, Tramell, waited for a school bus about a block from the Davidson home in the Country Meadows housing development near Milford Reservoir, northwest of Junction City.

Christopher and Tramell Wilson had climbed a small tree at the edge of a ravine to escape the three Rottweilers. When the dogs moved on, Christopher jumped down to see where they went. He was caught and killed just as the school bus arrived.

He suffered two fatal bites, one broke his neck and another tore his carotid artery.

(The Topeka Capital-Journal - May 27, 1999)

Earlier:

• Kansas: Frenzied Rottweilers chase, attack and kill Kansas boy, 11
• Kansas: Sabine Davidson refused to take a plea deal after her Rottweilers chased, mauled and killed an 11-year old boy. A jury just found her GUILTY of 2nd degree murder.
• Kansas: Sabine Davidson refused to take a plea deal on a charge of involuntary manslaughter after her Rottweilers attacked and killed an 11-year-old boy. Last month a jury convicted Sabine of 2nd degree murder. This convinced her husband Jeffrey Davidson not to risk a jury trial; he took the original plea offer of involuntary manslaughter and is sentenced to probation

California: Pamela Miller says she runs a rescue/sanctuary but wouldn't let anyone inspect it so they pulled her kennel license

CALIFORNIA -- After the City Council took away the license of a private animal shelter accused of keeping dogs in unhealthy conditions, the owner Pamela Miller (aka Pam Miller, Pamela Miller-Sackter, Pam Sackter, Pamela Sackter) has pledged to keep fighting.

The City Council late Tuesday refused a final appeal to reinstate the kennel license for Pamela Miller's Millerwood Animal Rescue & Sanctuary. The license was revoked July 1.

Burbank police started investigating Millerwood after former volunteers there complained that dogs were overcrowded and living in squalor. But police have been unable to get into the facility at Flower Street and Linden Avenue to inspect it.

Authorities say Millerwood has the capability to house about 85 dogs, but Miller admitted to the council that it now holds at least 120.

Voting 5-0 against reinstatement after an hourlong hearing Tuesday, council members said it was Miller's final appeal.

But the woman's lawyer said the decision to revoke was based on suspicions, not facts, and brought several witnesses to the hearing who testified that Miller's dogs are in good health.

"Suspicions are not grounds to revoke, it is not grounds to refuse to relicense," attorney Michael Duberchin said.

He said the battle over the facility isn't over yet.

"If the city wants litigation, the city will get litigation," Duberchin said.

Burbank police started investigating in December 1997 after volunteers came forward with stories of overcrowding, sick dogs, filthy conditions and not enough food.

After investigators determined that Miller is a "collector," who didn't have the capability to take care of her dogs and wasn't trying to adopt them out, they took the shelter owner to court to force her to allow inspectors in.

Burbank police said Miller "plays games" every time they try to inspect the facility, trying to put conditions on the judge's order to let authorities inspect the site.

"We have a court order giving us access to inspect. She's not letting us in," said Claudia Madrid, an animal control officer with the Burbank police who also testified at the hearing Tuesday.

Ultimately, the council praised Miller for her intentions, but declined to give her license back.

"You have far too many dogs, you have far too few resources," Councilman Ted McConkey said.

Madrid said the city had "watched the deterioration" at the shelter for several years. Miller opened the kennels in 1992.

The outside is like a fortress, with a 6-foot concrete fence and two padlocked metal gates barring entrance. There are no markings to identify the shelter, and three "No Trespassing" signs line a walkway leading to the front door.

Councilman Bob Kramer, who visited the site, wondered how the public can acquire the dogs when Miller works an outside job during the day.

"How are these dogs adopted if no one is here?" Kramer asked.

(LA Daily News - January 28, 1999)

Connecticut: Two Dogs In Attacks Put To Death

CONNECTICUT -- Two dogs were put to death Monday after viciously mauling two other neighborhood dogs, leaving one dead and the other critically injured.

The incident took place as the town council considers a vicious-dog ordinance. Tuesday night, the council voted to hold a Feb. 16 public hearing on the ordinance, which would place new restrictions on dogs and their owners.

Under the proposal, dogs deemed vicious would have to be leashed and muzzled while off their owners' properties and owners would have to carry $100,000 worth of liability insurance and post their properties with warning signs.

The owner of the dogs put to death, Keith Kavarsky, 28, of 97 Ledge Drive, was cited for two counts of damage to person or property, two counts of allowing a dog to roam, two counts of being a nuisance and one count of failure to vaccinate an animal. He was fined $455.

Capt. Larry Schubert said Kavarsky told police he let his dogs -- a mixed-breed 8-year- old German Shepherd named Ashley and a mixed-breed, 7-year-old Doberman pinscher named Tesla -- out Monday about 2 a.m. The dogs ran off, Kavarsky said, and he went to bed.

Animal control officer Janice Lund said that about 7:15 a.m. Kathy Sudol of 102 Ledge Drive let her 14-year-old Shih Tzu dog, Coco, out. About 8:15 a.m., Sudol found the mutilated body of the small dog in a neighbor's yard, with Ashley and Tesla standing over it. The neighbor's yard is across the street from Kavarsky's home.

Kavarsky's dogs, which were acting aggressively, would not let the owner and her husband near the Shih Tzu's body, and chased the Sudols back to their home, where they called police.

Before police arrived, Kavarsky's dogs apparently attacked another dog, one owned by Rita Desrochers of 127 Ledge Drive. The 15- year-old cocker spaniel named Barney was critically injured, receiving several bites.

Police said they followed the attacking dogs to Kavarsky's home. The dogs acted aggressively toward police officers before Kavarsky, who was asleep, was awakened, police said.

Lund said a remorseful Kavarsky voluntarily had the dogs put to death, taking the dogs himself to town veterinarian Mark Russak, who gave the animals lethal injections.

The Sudols told Lund they believe Kavarsky's dogs killed another Shih Tzu they owned in 1995. No one ever filed a complaint about the dogs, however, said Lund.

Lund said that when people fail to report incidents involving aggressive animals, it limits what action the authorities can take in the future because the dogs appear to have no history of aggressive behavior.

Both of Kavarsky's dogs were licensed, but because Tesla's rabies vaccination expired in July, its body was being tested for the disease.

``You don't know what dogs are going to do once they form a pack, and it looks like that's what happened here,'' said Lund.

The cocker spaniel was being treated Tuesday at an animal hospital in Rocky Hill.

(Hartford Courant - Jan 20, 1999)