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CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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When you vote, you are voting on whether or not the punishment fit the crime, NOT on the severity of the case itself. If you feel the sentence was very weak, you would vote 1 star. If you feel the sentence was very strong, you would vote 5 stars.
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Case #12974 Rating: 2.3 out of 5
Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Lance Crequer
» Mokai Crequer - Alleged
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Warrants have been issued for the arrest of a Kaikohe couple after a female dog and her six puppies were thrown over a bridge near Taheke, west of Kaikohe, into a stream and over a 20m waterfall.
Three of the pups were swept to their deaths over the waterfall during the incident on December 14.
The dog, a black-and-tan cattle-cross type, and a puppy survived, while the remaining two pups had to be put down after they were retrieved.
Bay of Islands SPCA senior inspector Jim Boyd said warrants to arrest Lance, 50, and Mokai Crequer, 52, have been issued by the Kaikohe District Court.
The couple are believed to have travelled to Auckland after the incident, Mr Boyd said, and intended to stay with relatives in Taupo.
"It's just a matter of time before they are picked up. They can run but they can't hide forever," he said.
A search warrant executed by the SPCA found dog hairs in the boot of the couple's Toyota Corolla car which had been left in Kaikohe when the couple travelled south.
Mr Boyd said hairs from the car are being sent to ESR for matching against hair taken from the surviving pup and its mother.
The penalty for wilfully ill-treating animals is up to three years in jail and a fine of up to $50,000.
The dog - named Shy - has been taken on trial into a home in the Kaeo area, one of four offered to the SPCA after the dogs' plight became known.
The surviving puppy - named Wai Wai - is now about eight weeks old and has gone, also on trial, to friends of Mr Boyd's.
Meanwhile, Auckland SPCA is searching for a woman who they believe has information about one of the country's worst ever cases of animal neglect.
SPCA staff believe Paulette Taki, whose last known address was in Glen Innes, Auckland, can tell them why Eve the dog was locked under her owner's house and left to starve.
The "very special dog" was found on December 24 and named Eve by SPCA staff.
The dog had been locked up and deprived of food and water for at least five weeks.
SPCA Auckland general manager David Lloyd-Barker urged Miss Taki, or any member of the public who has details of her whereabouts, to contact the SPCA.
"We feel that it would be very useful in progressing this case into the treatment of Eve to speak to Miss Taki as soon as possible," said Mr Lloyd-Barker.
There were no excuses for Eve's treatment, he said.
"We are required by law to give people the opportunity to explain themselves and we'll do that.
"They may have a reason but I can't imagine what it will be," he said.
The 11-month-old ridgeback cross weighed just 10kg when she was found, every bone was visible and she could barely stand.
Since moving to the SPCA Eve has gained condition and many admirers.
She would stay with the SPCA until she reached a "functional weight" and then go into foster care during any court case before being adopted out.
Case Updates
Harsher prison sentences for New Zealand's worst animal abusers will move one step closer on Thursday, when a new bill gets its first reading in Parliament.
Jail time will almost double â€" but some say it is still not enough.
Lance Crequer has spent time in jail for killing five dogs, and says he would do it again.
"I put the dogs in the boot of the car, and I took them to a bridge, and I threw them off the bridge," he says.
"This woman came over the hill and saw me. I dropped the dogs, shut the boot, and left."
Three of the puppies swept to their deaths down a 20 metre waterfall. Another two had to be put down.
Crequer pleaded guilty to wilful ill-treatment when he appeared at the Manukau District Court. He sought home detention.
Judge Anna Johnson took the rare move of imprisonment.
"Your actions were appalling, to say the least," said Ms Johnson when she handed down her sentence.
"The animals must have suffered greatly before their death. You are convicted and sentenced to four months imprisonment, and you are disqualified from owning for a period of five years."
That was 20 months ago. Today, Crequer doesn't have any pets, but says he does have an excuse for what he did - he says he went to the SPCA for help, but they let him down.
"It was going to cost us so much to have these dogs fixed or dealt with or whatever, which we couldn't afford" he says.
"Eventually I became so frustrated with not getting help from an organisation who are supposed to help us."
Crequer says he decided he would "do it" himself.
The SPCA says his excuse is feeble.
"We do accept all animals, anybody that can't look after them any longer we accept them," says Auckland SPCA chief exectuive Bob Kerridge.
"We do ask for a donation. Sometimes we get it, sometimes we don't. But we certainly don't reject them," says Mr Kerridge.
Mr Kerridge says for a crime like Crequer's, he would like to see sentences of at least two years.
"That would send a message."
The Government will introduce a bill to Parliament later this week, which will increase maximum sentences for animal cruelty from three to five years. It is a bill that has widespread party support.
The new legislation follows a number of recent horrific incidents, including the slaughter of 33 dogs near Wellsford, and the man who fed five kittens to his pitbull terrier.
Animal cruelty can lead to much more serious offending â€" murderer Antonie Dixon a case in point.
"His background was examined very carefully from a whole range of psychiatrists, from both defence and the Crown â€" the common element which all agreed was significant in the development of his personality and what he later did was cruelty to animals when he was a child," said Crown prosecutor Simon Moore, following the trial.
Crequer says he regrets what he did, in that he had to go to jail and put his wife through hell. However he feels no remorse for what he did.
When asked what he would do if faced with the same situation again, Crequer says; "I'd buy myself a hammer, or a bullet, and put a bullet in them".
Auckland SPCA CEO Bob Kerridge says attitudes like that show the Government's new bill is too soft. Five years is not enough, he says - 10 years is the appropriate maximum sentence. |
Source: 3news.co.nz - Feb 16, 2010
Update posted on Jul 4, 2011 - 5:41PM |
An animal killer has been jailed because someone was watching when he threw a dog and six puppies off a remote Northland river bridge on December 14 last year.
Lance Crequer, 50, was sentenced to four months imprisonment in Manukau District Court after pleading guilty to willful ill-treatment of the animals, the SPCA said today.
The Kaikohe resident, now living in Manurewa, was disqualified from owning animals for five years.
The court heard that three of the five-week old puppies were swept to their death over a 20m high waterfall.
Two other puppies were put down later but the surviving puppy and mother were now doing well.
Judge Anna Johnson said that after deciding to "get rid" of his dogs, Crequer had driven to a remote area, parked his vehicle in middle of the bridge, and threw all the dogs into the water,
She accepted the submissions from the SPCA that the act was deliberate and premeditated.
"Unfortunately for you, you were seen by a pregnant woman who was so distressed by what she saw that she went for help."
Judge Johnson said Crequer was not a suitable candidate for home detention.
The witness observed the animals swimming for their lives in the Mangatoa stream, which was swiftly flowing from recent rain and called neighbors and her husband to help.
The mother and surviving pup managed to get out of the water and hide in nearby bush and were found a day later. |
Source: nzherald.co.nz - May 30, 2008
Update posted on Jul 4, 2011 - 5:29PM |
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