Humane officers removed 20 dogs from the basement of a Marietta residence where a man is alleged to have brutally killed a small dog in the midst of a drunken tirade.
Leonard E. Carpenter, 63, of 1214 Cisler Drive, is also accused of throwing his girlfriend�s sister down a set of stairs, threatening a neighbor, kicking out the window of the police cruiser and disrupting public services.
Pending the results of a mental health evaluation, Carpenter is expected to appear in Marietta Municipal Court on Dec 20 for a preliminary hearing.
Washington County Humane Officer Butch Morris said his office was informed there were several other animals in the couple�s home.
Caged in the basement of the home were 18 miniature pinschers and two Doberman pinschers, Morris said.
�The cages were surprisingly clean,� Morris said. �But I�m not real impressed with their living conditions. They had no change of air and they�re not real acclimated to humans.�
Morris said it appeared the dogs, which ranged in age from 6 months to approximately 6 years, were being bred to be sold.
�These individuals were totally going about it the wrong way,� Morris said.
The dogs will be held until the end of court proceedings against the couple. At that time, the dogs will be returned or put up for adoption.
�Bringing in all of those dogs really didn�t help our situation here at the shelter,� Morris said. �It put us almost to capacity.�
Carpenter�s girlfriend, Janice Robinson, 47, also of 1214 Cisler Drive, is also charged out of the Dec. 12 incident. She is charged with domestic violence, obstructing official business and complicity in the death of the animal, which was choked and stomped.
She, too, is accused of attempting to cause physical harm to her sister, Karen Nixon.
Robinson recently pleaded not guilty and a Dec. 28 pretrial was set.
In a statement of facts filed by police, Nixon said Carpenter told her �to shut her mouth, it�s my dog� as the attack on the dog continued.
Specifically, Carpenter is charged with fourth-degree felony domestic violence, fourth-degree felony disruption of a public service, five counts of third-degree felony intimidation, second-degree misdemeanor cruelty to a companion animal, first-degree misdemeanor aggravated menacing, first-degree aggravated assault and minor-misdemeanor disorderly conduct while intoxicated.
He faces up to 28 years in prison and fines in excess of $60,000, if convicted and sentenced to the maximum possible penalty.
Robinson faces up to six months in jail on each of her three charges and $3,000 in fines, if convicted. Case UpdatesA Marietta man accused of stomping a dog to death, throwing a woman down a set of stairs and threatening to kill police officers � all during a single December tirade � reached a plea agreement on Wednesday.
Leonard Carpenter, 63, of 1214 Cisler Drive had faced more than 30 years in prison after he was indicted in January. After the plea, Carpenter is left with the possibility of five years in prison.
Police said on Dec. 12 they were called to the Carpenter residence because Leonard Carpenter was reportedly drunk and threatening to kill his sister-in-law, Karen Nixon, and her dogs with an axe.
�After he was arrested, he became even more upset,� Assistant Washington County Prosecutor Kevin Rings said.
Carpenter kicked out the window of the officer�s cruiser and later threatened to kill several officers and their families.
Rings said it was more than the ramblings of a drunk.
�They took this threat very seriously,� Rings said, adding several of the threatened officers showed family members pictures of Carpenter and instructed them to call for help if he was ever around their homes.
Carpenter�s court-appointed attorney, Rolf Baumgartel, said his client suffers from alcohol-related dementia and that he does not recall threatening anyone.
Asked if he was guilty, Carpenter replied: �Yeah, I could have done that.�
Still, Carpenter maintained he did not believe he threatened anyone with an axe.
Carpenter agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault and aggravated menacing charges for throwing his sister-in-law down a set of stairs and for threatening a neighbor. Also, he pleaded guilty to a single third-degree felony charge of intimidation for threatening an officer. He was charged with threatening five officers.
Carpenter will be sentenced at 8 a.m. June 1 in Washington County Common Pleas Judge Susan Boyer�s courtroom.
Animal cruelty charges are still pending in Marietta Municipal Court for the death of one of Nixon�s dogs, but any sentence imposed in that case will be required to run concurrent with the felony sentence. | Source: Marrietta Times - April 12, 2007
Update posted on Apr 12, 2007 - 11:06AM |
Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Back to Top References | Marietta Times |  | WTAP - Dec 20, 2006 |
« OH State Animal Cruelty Map
|
