Case Snapshot
Case ID: 13800
Classification: Beating
Animal: bird (wildlife)
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Attorneys/Judges
Defense(s): Steven E. Nelson
Judge(s): Michael D. Pugliese


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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

County: Monmouth

Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available

Defendant/Suspect: Michael Gonzalez

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

A Middletown man was witnessed "stalking" Canada geese near the McGuire's Grove Apartments, in the vicinity of Route 35, on Tuesday, May 13.

Victor "Buddy" Amato, the chief of police for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), said Michael Gonzalez, 30, was seen by two neighbors "sneaking around" a wooded area at roughly 7:30 a.m.

Watching from an upstairs window, the witnesses reportedly said they saw Gonzalez lure five geese into the woods, separate the three goslings from their parents, and proceed to beat the babies to death with a blue umbrella.

Amato said the man did not realize he was being observed and was only about 450 feet from his own front door when he killed the geese.

The chief said the witnesses called the SPCA and that he investigated the scene both later that day and early Wednesday morning.

Amato said the goslings were killed together and were only about a half-foot away from one another in the woods.

He said the mother goose was laying next to the goslings, hawking and quacking, when he arrived on the scene. "It was as if she knew what had happened and just couldn't understand why," Amato said.

The goslings were taken to Red Bank Animal Hospital, Red Bank, where they were determined dead, Amato said.

Gonzalez has been charged with six counts of animal cruelty and faces jail time, according to Amato. "[The charge is] six months on each count of animal cruelty," he explained. "If [Gonzalez] is found guilty in Middletown, I'm looking for [his sentence to be] at least a year with substantial fines in the thousands of dollars."

Amato noted that, while the case is slated for trial on June 25 in Middletown Municipal Court, Gonzalez's case might be remanded to the Monmouth County prosecutor's office, in Freehold.

The chief said it is possible Gonzalez will face third-degree crime charges. "The charges did not immediately go to the third degree because geese are not domestic animals," Amato said.

Regardless, the chief said he would seek for Gonzalez to receive mandated jail time, should he be found guilty.

Amato said the goslings were about the size of a dollar bill and still had yellow down feathers. "You want to smile at [baby geese]," he said. "They're cute, innocent creatures. Something short-circuits [in a person's] head when they commit a crime like this. They lose all sense of humanity."

The chief said Gonzalez was enraged, for some reason, and went after an "easy mark."

Amato could not comment about whether or not Gonzalez had done this before, but he said the crime might have been premeditated. "The witnesses said they'd seen [Gonzalez] around the woods before," Amato said. "I've also found dead goslings in that area before."

While Canada geese are often seen as a nuisance, Amato said they are living creatures, too. "All an animal wants is to love and be loved," he said. "It will love you even if you abuse it."

Amato said one positive thing about situations involving animal cruelty is that people are being made aware of the acts, especially recently. "People are seeing that animal cruelty will not be tolerated," he said. "[A persecutor] will pay for the crime."

If a resident sees any signs of animal cruelty, Amato said they should contact him with the Monmouth County SPCA at (732) 542-0040.


Case Updates

A Municipal Court judge stopped just short of sending a township man to the Monmouth County Jail after he pleaded guilty today to beating three baby geese to death with an umbrella.

Michael Gonzalez, 30, was given a six-month jail term, but Middletown Municipal Court Judge Michael D. Pugliese suspended that sentence after being assured that Gonzalez would be undergoing a year of psychotherapy. Gonzalez also was fined $4,100, placed on a year's probation and banned from owning any animals for five years.

Pugliese said the suspended jail sentence means any deviation from the order to receive psychiatric treatment or the terms of his probation will result in his being incarcerated for the six-month term.

Gonzalez said little during the Municipal Court proceedings, with most of the factual basis for the animal cruelty admission being laid out by his attorney, Steven E. Nelson of Neptune.

Gonzalez was charged May 16 with beating the three goslings to death after he lured them away from their parents and into a wooded area, said Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief of police for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The slain goslings were young enough that they still had their yellow downy feathers, Amato said.

Necropsies performed on the animals at the Red Bank Animal Hospital determined they had died of blunt force injuries that had broken their bones and damaged their internal organs.

"He stalked these little animals," Amato said. "It was a heartbreaking case. When I went to photograph the crime scene the parents were laying next to their dead babies. It was like they couldn't understand what had happened."
Source: MyCentralJersey - Aug 6, 2008
Update posted on Aug 6, 2008 - 11:00PM 

References

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