Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Michael Gayoso, John Gutierrez |
Three dogs starved, found in freezer
Pittsburg, KS (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jul 31, 2007
County: Crawford
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Dismissed
Person of Interest: Andrew Romanzi
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A court has dismissed charges against a southeast Kansas man accused of starving three bulldogs found in his freezer because the case didn't go to trial quickly enough.
Andrew Romanzi had been charged with four misdemeanor counts of cruelty. The Crawford County District Court dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the state can't refile the charges.
The charges were dismissed because the Crawford County prosecutor's office failed to bring Romanzi, a rural Pittsburg resident, to trial within 180 days of his first appearance, as required under Kansas law. The case was set for trial one day after the deadline, said Crawford County Attorney John Gutierrez.
"It was a miscalculation on my part and the court's part," Gutierrez said.
The charges stemmed from the July 31, 2007, discovery of three English bulldogs in Romanzi's freezer.
Romanzi had been ordered by a court to return four bulldogs to his ex-wife, Kay Romanzi. When deputies came to Andrew Romanzi's home to retrieve the dogs, he led the deputies to a freezer, where he removed three bags with the carcasses of one dog in each bag, according to authorities.
According to an autopsy, all three of the dogs in the freezer were 10 to 35 pounds underweight.
A fourth bulldog that was returned to the previous owner by Romanzi was 10 pounds underweight.
Crawford County Sheriff Sandy Horton said he was disappointed that the case was dropped.
"When you abuse an animal and do what Mr. Romanzi has allegedly done, you deserve to be put on trial. The dogs that were found in the freezer don't have anyone speaking up for them," Horton said.
Case UpdatesCounty attorney Michael Gayoso dismissed the appeal in the case of Andrew Romanzi.
Romanzi, of rural Pittsburg, was originally accused of four counts of animal cruelty for a situation involving English bulldogs found in his freezer.
Courts had dismissed all charges with prejudice, prohibiting the state from refiling the case. The charges were dismissed because of a violation of Romanzi's right to a speedy trial, which came because the county attorney's office failed to bring Romanzi to trial within 180 days of his first appearance.
Then-Crawford County Attorney John Gutierrez filed a motion to reconsider, which was rejected by the judge.
Gutierrez then filed a formal appeal through the Kansas Court of Appeals. He filed a brief on October 1, 2008, with the court related to the case.
The defense for Romanzi did not respond to the brief. In November, Gutierrez was defeated in a close election by Michael Gayoso.
Gayoso, now county attorney, said he reviewed the transcripts, documents and testimony related to the case and filed for a voluntary dismissal of the case on Jan. 26. The dismissal was granted on Jan. 29.
"There was a lot behind that decision," Gayoso said. "It pained me to do it. I want to see Romanzi face a trial and a jury. Unfortunately, the prior administration screwed up and had no reason for it. That's why I felt I had no basis to continue with the appeal. I'm bound to make sure anything I file in district or appellate court has a good-faith basis to proceed. We determined the state did not have good faith to proceed with the appeal." | Source: Morningsun.net - Feb 8, 2009
Update posted on Feb 9, 2009 - 3:34PM |
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