A local man went on trial on April 3, 2007 for felony animal abuse charges. 42-year old Todd Douglas Englund was accused of wrestling and punching exotic birds and snapping the neck of a puppy, killing it.
�Ms. Margaret�, a 4-month old Jack Russell Terrier, was killed September 30th. A local jury had to decide if Englund killed the animal, or if it's death was an accident.
He was charged with felony charges of animal cruelty.
His estranged-girlfriend Michelle Lang told police Englund came home drunk and angry, tearing up their home, and screaming threats about killing her and the dog.
Englund testified that the death was an accident. "She runs through my legs and I trip and I fall and I land on the coffee table. And when I landed on the coffee table and I try to not let myself get hurt so I fell on the coffee table with my shoulder."
Englund said he then cradled the injured dog and laid her out in the garden...unsure of what to do. Ms. Lang says that's not what she saw.
State Attorney Steve Meadows told the jury, "Ms. Lang testified that she saw the defendant take and break the neck of this puppy. She says Mr. Englund threw the dog against a tree. Police investigators testimony corroborated her story. And the police officers testified that they saw the dog's hair embedded in the tree from where it was thrown."
But investigators did not take any pictures or collect any hair samples. The defense jumped on the lack of physical evidence, making it a case of Lang's word against Englund's.
The one day trial ended late Tuesday afternoon. "The defendant is not guilty."
After the trial, Meadows tried to make some sense of the outcome. "In every case, the police officer�s investigation is going to be criticized - that's what a defense attorney is paid to do and in this particular case, the defense attorney attacked the police investigation."
Englund was also found not guilty of assault charges, for allegedly grabbing Ms. Lang's arm during the incident. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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