FLORIDA -- Does being a pet owner make a judge an animal rights activist?
Because Palm Beach County Circuit Judge James T. Carlisle owns several pets and has cared for strays, a defense attorney on Wednesday questioned the judge's impartiality in sentencing a man on animal baiting charges.
"In fairness to my client, I have an obligation to raise that issue," defense attorney Wilbur Chaney told Carlisle.
"You do have that right," said Carlisle, who delayed the sentencing so he could hold a hearing on the issue next week.
When a question of impartiality is raised, a judge is required by law to address the question.
Chaney represents Roy Bennett, a Delray Beach man whom Carlisle convicted last week of trapping a raccoon and then dumping it out right in front of a pit bull terrier, which then tore it to pieces while they hooted and hollered.
Since the non-jury trial, Chaney said, several people told him that Carlisle was an "animal rights advocate."The reports, Chaney said, indicated Carlisle owns several pets and that "he used to take in strays."
Because the case remains open, Carlisle cannot comment.
Bennett, 27, and his friend, Alex Sinkfield, 38, were arrested in January after two Delray Beach detectives drove by Bennett's home and saw the dog, owned by Bennett's cousin, mauling the raccoon.
"The dog had its face buried into the stomach of the raccoon and shaking it about," Detective Jack Mackler testified on Wednesday. "Everybody there was smiling and laughing. It was all a big joke."
Apparently, the white pit bull was covered in the raccoons blood, the raccoons guts were hanging out - and yet it was still alive. Animal Control responded and euthanized the suffering, dying animal.
The good news is that the pit bull was also euthanized.
As the detectives approached, several men ran, leaving behind Bennett and Sinkfield.
Sinkfield tried to load a cage, which had earlier held the raccoon, into a truck and leave, but the detectives stopped him, police said.
Bennett told detectives it was common practice to let the dog kill raccoons, which were eaten by his family. He directed detectives to a refrigerator inside the home that held seven frozen raccoon carcasses.
Bennett, who has a lengthy criminal record with convictions for rape, burglary, drug possession and distribution, faces a maximum sentence of 18 months.
Sinkfield, with a drug possession conviction, faced up to a year in jail, but Carlisle sentenced him Wednesday to five years' probation.
(Sun Sentinel - August 17, 1995)
Earlier:
Thursday, August 17, 1995
Friday, February 3, 1995
Florida: Vikki Kittles found guilty on 42 counts of animal cruelty
FLORIDA -- Vikki Kittles, who gained notoriety for hoarding horses and dozens of other animals in her mother's Wilton Manors home, was convicted in Oregon on Wednesday of 42 counts of misdemeanor animal neglect.
The convictions are the latest chapter in the strange saga of Kittles, 46, who has a history of mistreating animals while insisting she is saving them.
Vikki Rene Kittles (also known as Susan Dietrich, Rene Depenbrock, and Lynn Zellan) was arrested on animal cruelty charges in Broward County in 1985 for keeping 37 dogs, three cats and two horses in her mother's home.
She was convicted of one charge in Broward, acquitted of another and served no time in jail. She then went on a journey that ended in Oregon.
Kittles was arrested on animal neglect charges in the coastal town of Astoria in April 1993, when she was discovered to be living with 115 dogs, four cats and two chickens in a squalid school bus.
After she failed to appear for trial last August, Kittles was arrested in Washington state and has been in jail ever since.
Kittles went through eight lawyers and six judges before trial, finally acting as her own attorney. She was cited four times for contempt of court and sentenced to 70 days in jail for outbursts during the five-week trial.
Kittles will be sentenced today. Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Marquis said he will ask for "a substantial amount of jail, and most important, forfeiture of the animals.''
Marquis also will ask that Kittles not be allowed to adopt new animals while under the court's jurisdiction or be allowed to contact witnesses or people who will adopt her animals.
(Sun Sentinel - Feb 3, 1995)
The convictions are the latest chapter in the strange saga of Kittles, 46, who has a history of mistreating animals while insisting she is saving them.
Vikki Rene Kittles (also known as Susan Dietrich, Rene Depenbrock, and Lynn Zellan) was arrested on animal cruelty charges in Broward County in 1985 for keeping 37 dogs, three cats and two horses in her mother's home.
She was convicted of one charge in Broward, acquitted of another and served no time in jail. She then went on a journey that ended in Oregon.
Kittles was arrested on animal neglect charges in the coastal town of Astoria in April 1993, when she was discovered to be living with 115 dogs, four cats and two chickens in a squalid school bus.
After she failed to appear for trial last August, Kittles was arrested in Washington state and has been in jail ever since.
Kittles went through eight lawyers and six judges before trial, finally acting as her own attorney. She was cited four times for contempt of court and sentenced to 70 days in jail for outbursts during the five-week trial.
Kittles will be sentenced today. Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Marquis said he will ask for "a substantial amount of jail, and most important, forfeiture of the animals.''
Marquis also will ask that Kittles not be allowed to adopt new animals while under the court's jurisdiction or be allowed to contact witnesses or people who will adopt her animals.
(Sun Sentinel - Feb 3, 1995)
Friday, January 20, 1995
Florida: Roy Bennett and Alex Sinkfield arrested after they threw a caged raccoon to a pit bull and watched it get mauled to death
FLORIDA -- Two men who allowed a pit bull terrier to maul a caged raccoon to death in the front yard of a downtown home were arrested on felony animal cruelty charges, police said on Wednesday.
"The only thing I can compare [the fight) to was watching the Discovery Channel and watching a lion ravage a zebra," said Delray Beach police Officer Dave Cummings, who used a can of pepper spray to thwart the dog's attack. "It was that fierce."
Five men were watching the fight and cheering on the dog, detectives said.
"I was angry - they were watching it like a show," Detective Dean Perna said.
It took three police officers to break up the Tuesday evening fight between Caine, the 3-year-old dog, and the raccoon.
On Wednesday, an animal control officer took the dog to an animal shelter, where Caine is now considered police evidence for the criminal cases against Roy Bennett and Alex Sinkfield.
Sinkfield, who supplied the raccoon, and Bennett, whose cousin owns Caine, spent Tuesday night in the County Jail on charges of baiting or fighting animals, a third-degree felony. Both men posted $3,000 bail and were released on Wednesday.
Additional charges of animal cruelty were filed against the two men on Wednesday.
Bennett was also charged with tampering with evidence for trying to wash the blood off the pit bull after the officers stopped them, but while they were waiting for animal control officers to arrive.
The pit bull's white coat is covered with scratches and cuts from ripping the poor raccoon to shreds.
"This is the first case I've had like this in 14 years," said Detective Jack Makler.
Makler and Perna were driving along Southwest Fifth Avenue on Tuesday afternoon when they noticed the fight. They jumped out of their car to break it up.
"The dog's entire face was covered with blood," Makler said. "The dog had his head right in the raccoon's stomach."
Bennett has a lengthy criminal record with convictions for rape, burglary, drug possession and distribution.
(Sun Sentinel - January 19, 1995)
"The only thing I can compare [the fight) to was watching the Discovery Channel and watching a lion ravage a zebra," said Delray Beach police Officer Dave Cummings, who used a can of pepper spray to thwart the dog's attack. "It was that fierce."
Five men were watching the fight and cheering on the dog, detectives said.
"I was angry - they were watching it like a show," Detective Dean Perna said.
It took three police officers to break up the Tuesday evening fight between Caine, the 3-year-old dog, and the raccoon.
On Wednesday, an animal control officer took the dog to an animal shelter, where Caine is now considered police evidence for the criminal cases against Roy Bennett and Alex Sinkfield.
Sinkfield, who supplied the raccoon, and Bennett, whose cousin owns Caine, spent Tuesday night in the County Jail on charges of baiting or fighting animals, a third-degree felony. Both men posted $3,000 bail and were released on Wednesday.
Additional charges of animal cruelty were filed against the two men on Wednesday.
Bennett was also charged with tampering with evidence for trying to wash the blood off the pit bull after the officers stopped them, but while they were waiting for animal control officers to arrive.
The pit bull's white coat is covered with scratches and cuts from ripping the poor raccoon to shreds.
"This is the first case I've had like this in 14 years," said Detective Jack Makler.
Makler and Perna were driving along Southwest Fifth Avenue on Tuesday afternoon when they noticed the fight. They jumped out of their car to break it up.
"The dog's entire face was covered with blood," Makler said. "The dog had his head right in the raccoon's stomach."
Bennett has a lengthy criminal record with convictions for rape, burglary, drug possession and distribution.
(Sun Sentinel - January 19, 1995)
Monday, June 20, 1994
Pennsylvania: Troy Kramer, 32, assaulted his girlfriend then shot and killed her three dogs
PENNSYLVANIA -- A man hit a woman, pulled a knife on her and shot and killed three dogs at their North Mahoning Township home Sunday, state police from Punxsutawney reported.
Troy James Kramer, 32, of 1587 Smith Road, held a knife to the throat of Angela Marie Broadstreet, 25, then hit her in the face several times at about 6 p.m., police reported.
Broadstreet fled to a nearby residence and contacted police. She returned home to find Kramer standing with a shotgun in his hands.
According to police, he had shot and killed three dogs chained in the front yard.
When Broadstreet told him she had called police, Kromer ran into nearby woods. Police searched the woods but didn't find him. Kromer turned himself in later.
He was arraigned before Blairsville District Justice Dolores DeGruttola on charges of aggravated and simple assault, harassment and cruelty to animals and was committed to Indiana County Jail in lieu if $2,500 bail.
(Indiana Gazette - June 20, 1994)
Troy James Kramer, 32, of 1587 Smith Road, held a knife to the throat of Angela Marie Broadstreet, 25, then hit her in the face several times at about 6 p.m., police reported.
Broadstreet fled to a nearby residence and contacted police. She returned home to find Kramer standing with a shotgun in his hands.
According to police, he had shot and killed three dogs chained in the front yard.
When Broadstreet told him she had called police, Kromer ran into nearby woods. Police searched the woods but didn't find him. Kromer turned himself in later.
He was arraigned before Blairsville District Justice Dolores DeGruttola on charges of aggravated and simple assault, harassment and cruelty to animals and was committed to Indiana County Jail in lieu if $2,500 bail.
(Indiana Gazette - June 20, 1994)
Friday, April 15, 1994
Pennsylvania: Dogs, Cats Stolen For Pit Bull Training
PENNSYLVANIA -- The stolen pets are dangled from trees as "bait" for pit bull terriers being groomed for the fighting ring.
The pit bulls' owners believe they will become more ferocious with a little practice, authorities say.
The remains of more than 20 dogs and cats apparently used for pit-bull training have been found in three parks in lower Germantown since last fall, said Holly McGurgan of the Women's Humane Society.
The stealing of pets that are tossed to pit bulls to be torn apart for practice "pops up in different locations throughout the city from time to time," McGurgan said.
"Right now, the only place we know it's located is Germantown." The parks are Fernhill, where some residents say the practice has dropped off since neighbors have been keeping a wary eye, Kay and Happy Hollow.
"They kind of hang them from trees and sic the pit bulls on them," McGurgan said.
Cats are targets as well as dogs, she said. "If it's alive and it moves, it's bait," McGurgan said. "People are reporting to us that animals are still being used as bait for fighting."
The pit bulls later fight each other, with owners and spectators placing bets on which will win and which will die. Another humane society expert said many street bettors wage $5 on a dogfight but top level gamblers can bet more than $1,000.
McGurgan said she didn't know if the pet kidnapping and pit-bull baiting was the work of teenagers.
"We haven't been able to catch anybody in the act," she said. "But it does seem to be the work of more than one person."
One arrest has been made in an ongoing investigation. Last November, police arrested Alexander Thomas, 19, who lives in the neighborhood and worked briefly for the Pennsylvania SPCA, after a neighbor accused him of stealing his dog.
According to a report in the Germantown Courier, the missing dog was found along with two others allegedly belonging to Thomas chained on Thomas' premises and a humane worker said the two other dogs had open wounds and appeared to have been used in dogfighting. The neighbor's dog reportedly was all right.
The two other dogs were taken to the Pennsylvania SPCA where one soon died and the other later had to be euthanized because of injuries, the paper quoted SPCA officials as saying.
Thomas faces a June 2 trial for dogfighting, a felony that carries maximum penalties of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine if convicted. A theft charge was dismissed.
A resident of nearby Fernhill, Barry Burton, says he has heard dogs fighting within the last two weeks. "When the dogs are locking on each other, they don't let go," he said. "You can hear it all through the park."
Burton said he had cared for three pit bulls, including one rescued from the park, but eventually had to turn two of them over to the SPCA because they were too aggressive.
(Philly.com - April 14, 1994)
The pit bulls' owners believe they will become more ferocious with a little practice, authorities say.
The remains of more than 20 dogs and cats apparently used for pit-bull training have been found in three parks in lower Germantown since last fall, said Holly McGurgan of the Women's Humane Society.
The stealing of pets that are tossed to pit bulls to be torn apart for practice "pops up in different locations throughout the city from time to time," McGurgan said.
"Right now, the only place we know it's located is Germantown." The parks are Fernhill, where some residents say the practice has dropped off since neighbors have been keeping a wary eye, Kay and Happy Hollow.
"They kind of hang them from trees and sic the pit bulls on them," McGurgan said.
Cats are targets as well as dogs, she said. "If it's alive and it moves, it's bait," McGurgan said. "People are reporting to us that animals are still being used as bait for fighting."
The pit bulls later fight each other, with owners and spectators placing bets on which will win and which will die. Another humane society expert said many street bettors wage $5 on a dogfight but top level gamblers can bet more than $1,000.
McGurgan said she didn't know if the pet kidnapping and pit-bull baiting was the work of teenagers.
"We haven't been able to catch anybody in the act," she said. "But it does seem to be the work of more than one person."
One arrest has been made in an ongoing investigation. Last November, police arrested Alexander Thomas, 19, who lives in the neighborhood and worked briefly for the Pennsylvania SPCA, after a neighbor accused him of stealing his dog.
According to a report in the Germantown Courier, the missing dog was found along with two others allegedly belonging to Thomas chained on Thomas' premises and a humane worker said the two other dogs had open wounds and appeared to have been used in dogfighting. The neighbor's dog reportedly was all right.
The two other dogs were taken to the Pennsylvania SPCA where one soon died and the other later had to be euthanized because of injuries, the paper quoted SPCA officials as saying.
Thomas faces a June 2 trial for dogfighting, a felony that carries maximum penalties of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine if convicted. A theft charge was dismissed.
A resident of nearby Fernhill, Barry Burton, says he has heard dogs fighting within the last two weeks. "When the dogs are locking on each other, they don't let go," he said. "You can hear it all through the park."
Burton said he had cared for three pit bulls, including one rescued from the park, but eventually had to turn two of them over to the SPCA because they were too aggressive.
(Philly.com - April 14, 1994)
Wednesday, December 22, 1993
Connecticut: Elderly woman, 83, Attacked In Her Own Yard By Neighbor Angel Velez's Pit Bull
CONNECTICUT -- Sophia Skorobohaty was ready to drive her 83-year-old great-aunt, Anna Bollak, to Shop Rite for some Christmas food shopping. But they never made it past Bollak's Bodwell Street driveway Monday.
A pit bull bit a hole through a neighbor's fence, jumped onto the 83-year-old Hartford woman, who relies on a cane to walk, and sunk his teeth into her arm.
"I was walking her to the van, and I turned for a minute to pull out my keys from my bag," said Skorobohaty, tears welling in her eyes as she retold the incident from outside Bollak's home.
"And then the pit bull ran up. It just grabbed at her, and it wouldn't let go. My grandaunt just fainted in my arms because I think the dog just ate part of her arm."
The victim, Anna Bollak, was taken by ambulance to Hartford Hospital. Bollak, who turns 84 today, was in stable condition Monday night.
She received eight puncture wounds in her right arm, ligament damage and a possible broken arm, police said.
The pit bull's owner - ANGEL VELEZ, who lives on Preston Street behind Bollak's home, was later cited for numerous dog law violations.
As Skorobohaty shouted for help, Bollak's husband came outside to try to scare the pit bull away and a resident from across the street ran over to assist. A neighbor called 911.
"I was hitting the dog with the cane but it wouldn't stop biting her," Skorobohaty said.
Valeriy Kozubenko, who lives across the street, heard the screaming and tried to help. He said he grabbed at the dog's collar and tried to pull the pit bull away from the woman.
Several police cruisers and an ambulance arrived. Officer Anthony Romano took a white sheet from the ambulance. Romano was able to tie the sheet around the dog's head. The pit bull bit into the sheet and Romano dragged the dog into the rear seat of a police cruiser.
The pit bull sat looking out the cruiser's rear windows until Hartford's dog warden, who arrived a short time later, used a long rod with a collar attached to the end to lead the dog out of the cruiser and into a blue van.
As the dog leaped into the van, a voice from a neighboring yard called out, "Do you have a dog there?"
It was the pit bull's owner.
Officers cited 30-year-old Angel Velez, 25 Preston St., for not having a valid license for the pit bull, allowing the dog to roam and creating a public nuisance, Sgt. Wil Rivera said
Anna (Sztuka) Bolak, 94 of Hartford, wife of Wolodymyr Bolak died Monday, (December 22, 2003) at Haven Health Care in Rocky Hill.
She was born in Poland and has lived in the Hartford area since 1961. She had worked for St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield and was a member of St. Michaels Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hartford.
She leaves a stepdaughter, Janina in Poland; two nephews, Nicholas Malnick of Glastonbury and John Nikitich in California; a great-niece Zofia Skorobohaty of Cromwell; a great-nephew Jeffery Malnick of West Hartford; two great-great nieces; members of the Szwed family here in the Hartford area; and other nephews and nieces in Poland.
Funeral services will start Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. from the Talarski Maple Hill Chapels, 380 Maple Ave., Hartford followed by a Requiem Liturgy at 9 a.m. in St. Michaels Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hartford. Burial will be in St. Michaels Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, Glastonbury. Calling hours at the Chapels will be TODAY from 4-6 p.m. during which time a Panachyda services will be held at 5 p.m.
Published in The Hartford Courant on Dec. 23, 2003
(The Hartford Courant - December 21, 1993)
A pit bull bit a hole through a neighbor's fence, jumped onto the 83-year-old Hartford woman, who relies on a cane to walk, and sunk his teeth into her arm.
"I was walking her to the van, and I turned for a minute to pull out my keys from my bag," said Skorobohaty, tears welling in her eyes as she retold the incident from outside Bollak's home.
"And then the pit bull ran up. It just grabbed at her, and it wouldn't let go. My grandaunt just fainted in my arms because I think the dog just ate part of her arm."
The victim, Anna Bollak, was taken by ambulance to Hartford Hospital. Bollak, who turns 84 today, was in stable condition Monday night.
She received eight puncture wounds in her right arm, ligament damage and a possible broken arm, police said.
The pit bull's owner - ANGEL VELEZ, who lives on Preston Street behind Bollak's home, was later cited for numerous dog law violations.
As Skorobohaty shouted for help, Bollak's husband came outside to try to scare the pit bull away and a resident from across the street ran over to assist. A neighbor called 911.
"I was hitting the dog with the cane but it wouldn't stop biting her," Skorobohaty said.
Valeriy Kozubenko, who lives across the street, heard the screaming and tried to help. He said he grabbed at the dog's collar and tried to pull the pit bull away from the woman.
Several police cruisers and an ambulance arrived. Officer Anthony Romano took a white sheet from the ambulance. Romano was able to tie the sheet around the dog's head. The pit bull bit into the sheet and Romano dragged the dog into the rear seat of a police cruiser.
The pit bull sat looking out the cruiser's rear windows until Hartford's dog warden, who arrived a short time later, used a long rod with a collar attached to the end to lead the dog out of the cruiser and into a blue van.
As the dog leaped into the van, a voice from a neighboring yard called out, "Do you have a dog there?"
It was the pit bull's owner.
Officers cited 30-year-old Angel Velez, 25 Preston St., for not having a valid license for the pit bull, allowing the dog to roam and creating a public nuisance, Sgt. Wil Rivera said
* * * * * * *
Anna (Sztuka) Bolak, 94 of Hartford, wife of Wolodymyr Bolak died Monday, (December 22, 2003) at Haven Health Care in Rocky Hill.
She was born in Poland and has lived in the Hartford area since 1961. She had worked for St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield and was a member of St. Michaels Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hartford.
She leaves a stepdaughter, Janina in Poland; two nephews, Nicholas Malnick of Glastonbury and John Nikitich in California; a great-niece Zofia Skorobohaty of Cromwell; a great-nephew Jeffery Malnick of West Hartford; two great-great nieces; members of the Szwed family here in the Hartford area; and other nephews and nieces in Poland.
Funeral services will start Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. from the Talarski Maple Hill Chapels, 380 Maple Ave., Hartford followed by a Requiem Liturgy at 9 a.m. in St. Michaels Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hartford. Burial will be in St. Michaels Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, Glastonbury. Calling hours at the Chapels will be TODAY from 4-6 p.m. during which time a Panachyda services will be held at 5 p.m.
Published in The Hartford Courant on Dec. 23, 2003
(The Hartford Courant - December 21, 1993)
Wednesday, November 3, 1993
Man gets 30 days for killing his dog
ILLINOIS -- Saying the man who intentionally killed his dog by running it over with his car was a "walking time bomb," a Kane County judge handed down the maximum sentence he could-and then some.
After sentencing Philip Rinn to jail for 30 days and ordering him to pay a $500 fine, Judge Donald C. Hudson told Rinn he must spend 100 hours working with the county's highway department-picking up the carcasses of dead animals.
Further, Hudson placed the 24-year-old St. Charles man on probation for two years.
During a two-hour hearing, Rinn testified he killed the dog because it had turned vicious and possibly rabid. He said he feared the dog might attack him or his family.
Rinn also disputed a Geneva police sergeant who testified that Rinn told him he had killed the dog because he was angry after the animal damaged his car and growled at his wife, and he did not want to pay to take it to a veterinarian.
And his attorney, Gerard Kepple, contended that Rinn's use of the automobile was the most humane way to kill the animal available to him at the time.
But in calling Rinn's credibility "severely deficient," Hudson said Rinn's explanation "amounts to a contrived defense of convenience."
Hudson said Rinn has shown "no respect and appreciation for the sanctity of life." He said that a report from the county's diagnostic center where Rinn went for psychological evaluation showed Rinn to be a man who has difficulty controlling his temper and a man who will "lash out physically."
The case stems from an incident in August in which Rinn took his dog, Royal, to Peck Road outside the city limits, where he killed the animal.
Police said Rinn admitted that he tied a chain around the neck of the dog, described as a light-colored Labrador retriever, and dragged it with his car. Police said Rinn told them that when the animal did not die, he ran it over with his car. The dog's body was found in a ditch two days later.
(Chicago Tribune - November 2, 1993)
After sentencing Philip Rinn to jail for 30 days and ordering him to pay a $500 fine, Judge Donald C. Hudson told Rinn he must spend 100 hours working with the county's highway department-picking up the carcasses of dead animals.
Further, Hudson placed the 24-year-old St. Charles man on probation for two years.
During a two-hour hearing, Rinn testified he killed the dog because it had turned vicious and possibly rabid. He said he feared the dog might attack him or his family.
Rinn also disputed a Geneva police sergeant who testified that Rinn told him he had killed the dog because he was angry after the animal damaged his car and growled at his wife, and he did not want to pay to take it to a veterinarian.
And his attorney, Gerard Kepple, contended that Rinn's use of the automobile was the most humane way to kill the animal available to him at the time.
But in calling Rinn's credibility "severely deficient," Hudson said Rinn's explanation "amounts to a contrived defense of convenience."
Hudson said Rinn has shown "no respect and appreciation for the sanctity of life." He said that a report from the county's diagnostic center where Rinn went for psychological evaluation showed Rinn to be a man who has difficulty controlling his temper and a man who will "lash out physically."
The case stems from an incident in August in which Rinn took his dog, Royal, to Peck Road outside the city limits, where he killed the animal.
Police said Rinn admitted that he tied a chain around the neck of the dog, described as a light-colored Labrador retriever, and dragged it with his car. Police said Rinn told them that when the animal did not die, he ran it over with his car. The dog's body was found in a ditch two days later.
(Chicago Tribune - November 2, 1993)
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