Attorneys/Judges
| Judge(s): | Robert A. Douglas Jr. |
CONVICTED: Was justice served?
more information on voting
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.
Please vote honestly and realistically. These ratings will be used a a tool for many future programs, including a "People’s Choice" of best and worst sentencing, DA and judge "report cards", and more. Try to resist the temptation to vote 1 star on every case, even if you feel that 100 years in prison isn’t enough.
Case #14511 Rating: 3.2 out of 5
Chained puppy dies of neglect
Youngstown, OH (US)Incident Date: Monday, Jun 23, 2008
County: Mahoning
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Jody L. Seabolt
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
The West Side woman whose German shepherd puppy died with a temperature of 106 degrees after being on a tangled chain in sweltering heat has been found guilty of animal abuse and child endangering.
Jody L. Seabolt, 48, of South Lakeview Ave., entered pleas of no contest Wednesday [Sept 3, 2008] in municipal court to the two charges. A second count of child endangering was dismissed in a plea agreement.
Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. found Seabolt guilty, ordered a background investigation and set sentencing for Oct. 28. She faces up to nine months in jail.
After court, Seabolt had no comment.
Three of her neighbors who attended Wednesday's court hearing said they hope she is punished with the maximum time in jail.
"He was cooked alive with a temperature of 106," Detective Sgt. John Perdue said in June as he signed charges against the dog's owner. "I had half the neighborhood in my office signing complaints."
The normal temperature for a healthy dog can range from 99 to 102 degrees.
When arrested in June, Seabolt lived in a house she rented at 118 S. Portland Ave. The endangering charges related to what Patrolman Sam Mosca described as the squalid and unsafe conditions he found inside Seabolt'shome.
The children, Seabolt's 8-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter, were taken by agents from Mahoning County Children Services Board and placed temporarily with an aunt, reports show. Mosca said in his report the children were home when they should have been in school and records showed they'd been absent from school a lot.
Seabolt told The Vindicator in June she was at work when her dog was removed by neighbors and taken to a vet. She denied mistreatment of the animal, saying he had food and water but added that he sometimes would knock the dishes over.
Case UpdatesJody Seabolt has been sentenced to house arrest for child endangering and fined $50 for the death of a puppy.
Seabolt, 48, of South Lakeview Avenue, was in municipal court Tuesday for sentencing on two counts of child endangering, based on the squalid conditions of her former home on South Portland Avenue, and one count of animal cruelty. The West Side woman gave no statement when Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. asked if she had anything to say.
For the child endangering, the judge imposed 45 days' electronically monitored house arrest with work privileges. In addition to the $50 fine for animal cruelty, the judge ordered that she have no pets in her home.
Seabolt was also placed on 18 months' probation and told that her 8-year-old son must resume counseling. She will be back in court for a status hearing after her house arrest.
Judge Douglas said a report he received from Mahoning County Children Services Board "appears to reflect some improvement" in Seabolt's living environment and care of her children. She also has a teenage daughter living at home.
Prior to sentencing, defense attorney Kelly Linger told the judge that Seabolt, if sent to jail, would lose her job. The lawyer said her client's current home is clean.
On June 9, when Patrolman Sam Mosca was sent to Seabolt's Portland Avenue home, he described the place as squalid and unsafe.
Outside lay Max, an 8-month-old German shepherd puppy, choking in a tangled chain and sweltering in record-breaking heat without water. Neighbors who tried to rescue the animal took him to a vet, but he died that evening. His temperature had been 106; 101 is normal.
The officer, who smelled a horrible odor coming from the house when he stood on the porch, wrote a detailed description of what he found. The conditions were also photographed by CSB agents.
Mosca said he found dirty clothes scattered in the living room, the dining room table covered with food-soiled plates and containers, a rotting watermelon and a hamster in a cage. The kitchen had grease-covered pans on the stove, a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, greasy walls and a filthy refrigerator with rotten food inside, he said.
The basement, he said, was partially flooded and the odor so bad it made him gag. No washer or dryer was found, and the only bathtub was filled with dirty clothes and water, apparently being used to wash clothes, the officer said in his report.
The floor of one bedroom was covered with dog feces, and the other two filthy bedrooms had only mattresses on the floor without sheets, Mosca said. | Source: Vindy.com - Nov 26, 2008
Update posted on Dec 3, 2008 - 5:17PM |
A municipal judge wants to know a lot more about Jody L. Seabolt before he sentences the West Side woman whose German Shepherd puppy had a temperature of 106 degrees before it died in June.
"There needs to be a penalty here, I'm not sure what yet," Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. told Seabolt and her lawyer on Tuesday. "The level of responsibility is just not acceptable."
Seabolt, 48, of South Lakeview Avenue, formerly of South Portland Avenue, was in court to be sentenced on one count of animal cruelty and two counts of child endangering. The judge reset the sentencing to Nov. 25 and ordered that Seabolt's caseworker and a supervisor from the county's Children Services Board be there. | Source: Vindy.Com - Oct 28, 2008
Update posted on Oct 30, 2008 - 12:32AM |
References« OH State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Mahoning County, OH
|
