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Case #13546 Rating: 4.3 out of 5
Duck shot with pellet gun
Mastic, NY (US)Incident Date: Monday, Mar 17, 2008
County: Suffolk
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Ylik Mathews
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Like any other victim of a violent attack, Circles the duck now has legal protection - an order of protection against the man charged as her assailant.
In addition to getting shot in the neck by a pellet gun, Suffolk prosecutors said Circles, of Mastic, managed to make legal history yesterday.
"To my knowledge, it's the first order of protection for a pet in Suffolk County outside of domestic violence cases," said prosecutor Michelle Auletta.
The attack was quick, said Circles' owner, Janet Lippincott, 53. A group of teens jumped the backyard fence and charged at her with pellet guns, Lippincott said.
"My son just lost it," Lippincott said, describing the March 17 shooting. "He saw the blood on both sides of her neck."
But yesterday [April 3, 2008], the yellow-billed Pekin duck - the same variety as Long Island duck fame - scored a legal victory. The man police say is her attacker, Ylik Mathews, 21, of Mastic, pleaded not guilty to felony animal cruelty charges in First District Court in Central Islip. Judge John Iliou issued a full order of protection for Lippincott's family, including Circles.
An attorney who has represented Mathews in the past said he was unfamiliar with this case.
Mathews was held on bail of $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond.
"She's made a remarkable recovery," Lippincott said as Circles made gurgly duck sounds at her feet yesterday.
According to court papers, the single pellet pierced the duck's larynx, shattering a bone around her voice box and leaving two holes on opposite sides of her neck. Circles' veterinary bill totaled $200.
Lippincott said Mathews first told her the shooting was an accident. But she said she decided to press charges after Mathews sought assault charges against her son, Michael.
At first, Lippincott said Suffolk police were stumped.
"They'd never ran across it before," she said of assault on a duck.
In 2006, then-Gov. George Pataki signed into law the legal provision to include pets in orders of protection.
The measure was first used a month later in Queens, when a judge listed Be Be, a 5-year-old bichon frise, as a party in a domestic dispute.
Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said he could not recall a case involving cruelty to ducks that led to court.
If convicted, Mathews faces up to two years in prison. State prison records show he has a felony conviction for first-degree robbery.
Circles is back to sleeping in the dog crate she shares with two pit bull-Labrador sisters, Viper and Sweetie.
"It wound up a nightmare," Lippincott said, "all because they shot my duck."
Case UpdatesFirst she got an order of protection. Now Circles the pet Pekin duck is doing as some other victims of violence have done: She is leaving Long Island.
The yellow-billed bird from Mastic was not present in a Riverhead courtroom Friday to hear Ylik Mathews, 21, apologize for jumping over his neighbors' fence in March and shooting the duck with a pellet gun.
"I just want to say I'm sorry for the stress I caused the family for hurting their innocent pet," Mathews, speaking at a near whisper, told Suffolk County Court Judge James C. Hudson.
Mathews was sentenced to a year in the Suffolk jail on aggravated animal cruelty charges, but will spend eight months there because of time already served.
Defense attorney Mark Kirshner of East Islip said Mathews is planning to stay out of trouble and will pursue a culinary career when he gets out of jail.
When he does, he will have to steer clear of Circles and her owner, Janet Lippincott, as Hudson extended the existing order of protection to 2016, likely beyond Circles' lifetime.
But by then, Circles and her family will have relocated to rural Queen Creek, Ariz.
"I'm out of here," said Lippincott, citing tensions with some of her neighbors.
The white-feathered duck, which belongs to a variety once widely farmed on Long Island, was shot once in its spindly neck. It briefly stopped laying eggs, but made a full recovery.
The assault made worldwide headlines after a judge approved an order of protection for Lippincott and her pet. Assistant District Attorney Michelle Auletta said the extended restraining order was "another milestone in the pursuit of fighting to protect animals."
Kirshner said his client "didn't realize what the consequences would be when he was playing with that pellet gun."
Lippincott said Mathews lost her trust, but has not necessarily lost a feathered friend.
"Circles, she doesn't know better," Lippincott said. | Source: Newsday - July 20. 2008
Update posted on Jul 21, 2008 - 12:57PM |
His attacker will one day be out of jail, but Circles the duck may always have his order of protection.
Quietly ending an odd case of animal abuse that made international headlines, a Mastic man yesterday pleaded guilty to felony aggravated animal cruelty charges in connection with a March 17 pellet gun attack on his neighbors' pet Pekin duck.
Ylik Mathews, 21, is expected to be sentenced next month to a year in county jail. Suffolk County Court Judge James C. Hudson continued an order of protection for Circles, who fully recovered after being shot in the throat, and his owner, Janet Lippincott, also of Mastic.
Orders of protection usually expire in a year, but can be indefinitely extended if warranted by the court.
Mathews' lawyer, Mark G. Kirshner, of East Islip, said the sentence included a penalty for Mathews' parole violation on an attempted robbery conviction.
Kirshner said Mathews "maintains it was an accident" and "is happy the duck is doing well." | Source: Newsday - June 20, 2008
Update posted on Jun 23, 2008 - 12:09AM |
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