Warning, there's a picture and it is horrible.
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Detained for trial
Juveniles to be incarcerated until official hearing in dog attack case
By Elva K. Österreich, News Editor
Three juveniles will not be released after they were charged with felony cruelty to animals. The three are accused of trying to beat a dog to death Sunday.
The three Dasha Lombard, 15; James Manzanares, 14; and Nicholas Stogdon, 13 were ordered to be detained until a trial takes place within the next 30 days in 12th Judicial District Judge Jerry Ritter's courtroom Tuesday.
Ritter explained to the juveniles why they are being charged with felony counts. The three face charges of extreme cruelty to animals, conspiracy to commit extreme cruelty and tampering with evidence.
The juveniles were told the possible consequences they would face if they are found guilty of the charges, and were asked to enter a plea.
Linda Burson, the public defender who is temporarily representing the three, said all three juveniles are "standing mute." That means they are not pleading guilty or no contest, but will face trial.
"All three want to go home," Burson said at the outset of the detention hearing.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Kwasniewski then began calling witnesses. Department of Public Safety Officer Roger Schoolcraft was the first.
Schoolcraft responded to a call from a resident of a trailer park on Canal Street. The witness' little girl had seen the teenagers clustered around the dog in the Canal ditch and ran to tell her father, who then called the police.
When Schoolcraft got there, he said he spotted the three juveniles running across Florida Avenue and stopped them. He said the three told them they had thought the dog was dying and so decided to kill it.
They were smiling and unconcerned, Schoolcraft said.
"Manzanares said, 'It was just a f___ing dog'," Schoolcraft told the court. "They didn't seem to be affected by what they had done."
Kwasniewski walked Schoolcraft through photos of the different items the police had found, which had been used in the attempt to kill the dog.
Clear packing tape had been put around her snout and over her nose to suffocate her; two knives and a flat screwdriver were found in various locations that had been used to stab her; and a 44.2-pound concrete block was found close to the dog. It had been thrown on her at least once and perhaps multiple times.
Stogdon provided Schoolcraft with a verbal and written statement about what happened. Stogdon told Schoolcraft the girl, Lombard, had seen the dog and taken her. Then the teenagers saw the dog was bleeding and decided to kill it.
The next witness, veterinarian Edmund Christopher Staley, testified the dog had been bleeding a little because she was "in heat."
Staley testified the dog had a concussion, was in shock and suffering from blood loss when he received her from Animal Control officers Sunday. She had puncture wounds and a pair of slice wounds to her chest; a contusion on her right ear; and bad bruising on either side of her head.
"She showed a great deal of pain when she was moved," he said.
The contusions on her head turned out to be more than superficial, Staley said. She had a fractured vertebrae. What saved her from the blow or blows from the concrete was the soft earth under her, he guessed.
"It would have crushed her skull," Staley said.
The dog, now nicknamed Sandy, is about 24 inches long from the tip of her nose to the back end of her ribcage, Staley testified.
He also said there was no sign of any kind of previous injury to the dog.
When asked if the dog displayed any aggressive behavior, Staley said, "not at all" and expounded by saying despite her pain, she was licking the hands of the Animal Control officers and waging her tail.
Calling on Juvenile Probation and Parole officers to testify, Kwasniewski proceeded to bring the teenagers' prior records into the picture.
Kathy Cavazos of JPPO first outlined Lombard's record. On Feb. 23, Cavazos said, Lombard was charged with having a deadly weapon on school property. She had also been charged with criminal damage to property when she allegedly spray-painted an elementary school playground. Other previous charges include shoplifting and resisting, evading and obstructing an officer.
Lombard has also had numerous incidents of trouble at school, usually involving verbally abusing teachers.
Cavazos recommended Lombard be kept in detention.
"Her guardian doesn't feel she can take her back," Cavazos said. "She may subject others to injury."
Next, Dennis Gallegos of JPPO was called as a witness regarding his clients, both the boys.
He listed Manzanares' priors, including shoplifting (including one incident where he was with co-defendant Stogdon), disorderly conduct, larceny, receiving stolen property and burglary.
"His mother and grandmother said he wouldn't comply with his coming-home curfew," Gallegos said.
Gallegos recommended Manzanares be detained and undergo a psychiatric examination. He also talked about animal cruelty as a warning sign and an indicator of possible aggressive behavior against people.
Gallegos also recommended Stogdon be detained and undergo evaluation. Gallegos cited occasions Stogdon was charged several times with shoplifting; twice for battery on a household member; for running away; and for burglary.
In closing, Kwasniewski cited studies showing animal cruelty is a precursor to worse crimes. He also pointed out the community could be dangerous to the juveniles.
"The reaction of the public would probably not be as level-headed as (the witness who called police)," Kwasniewski said.
He also pointed out all three teenagers had a propensity for not being where they are supposed to be at any given time.
Defender Burson suggested the juveniles be sent home with ankle bracelets where their parents could monitor them.
"They seem to be very angry young people," Burson said.
Ritter ordered the youngsters be held at a detention center until their trial date.
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I call bullshit on these kids wanting to kill it because they 'thought it was sick'. You don't mercy kill something by duct-taping it's mouth and stabbing it with a screwdriver.
