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Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Steve Wagstaffe |
CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #14999 Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Dog beaten to death
Burlingame, CA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Nov 20, 2008
County: San Mateo
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Ryan Richard Reeser
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
A Burlingame man accused of fatally punching his girlfriend's miniature pinscher Godiva and dumping her body on the street is scheduled to surrender today on animal cruelty charges.
Prosecutors filed two felony counts of animal abuse and a misdemeanor charge of destroying evidence Dec. 11 against Ryan Reeser, 27. Reeser is supposed to surrender this morning.
On Nov. 20, Reeser's girlfriend brought the dog to his home on El Camino Real where they often stayed, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
The woman left for a time and, upon returning, couldn't find Godiva. Reeser reportedly said the dog ran away but the woman saw blood on a washing machine and socks. The woman called her father who confronted Reeser and later found Godiva dead in her bed on a side street, Wagstaffe said.
The dog was taken to the Peninsula Humane Society.
Reeser allegedly told authorities he punched the 6-year-old dog once in the head after she nipped at him.
A necropsy performed on Godiva showed the dog sustained multiple hits and died from multiple rib and skull fractures and hematomas, Wagstaffe said.
The animal's eye was also dislodged, he said.
The Peninsula Humane Society turned the case over to the District Attorney's Office which decided to file the charges last week after further investigation, Wagstaffe said.
Reeser has no prior criminal convictions in San Mateo County.
Case UpdatesA man who beat his girlfriend's small dog to death pleaded no contest today to animal cruelty and was sentenced to six months in county jail.
Ryan Reeser, 27, attacked a 6-year-old miniature pinscher named Godiva on Nov. 20, 2008, punching the 7-pound dog numerous times in the face, said Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County's chief deputy district attorney.
Reeser dislodged one of the dog's eyes from its sockets and left bruises in 13 places, Wagstaffe said.
The animal bled to death, and Reeser threw its body in a plastic storage container on Easton Drive in Burlingame. His girlfriend's father found the body the next day.
Reeser's motive for the attack wasn't known, other than that he had been angry at his girlfriend and the dog, said Assistant District Attorney Karen Guidotti. | Source: SFGate.com - Sep 22, 2009
Update posted on Sep 22, 2009 - 4:33PM |
A Burlingame man accused of beating his girlfriend's 7-pound dog Godiva to death pleaded not guilty to felony animal abuse charges in San Mateo County Superior Court Thursday morning.
Ryan Reeser, 27, punched the 6-year-old miniature pinscher in its face and body and dumped the mortally wounded animal in a plastic storage container before leaving it to die a block from his home, prosecutors said.
The dog was later found deceased with an eye dislodged from its socket and more than a dozen separate areas of bruising, according to prosecutors. A necropsy showed the dog died of blood loss and injuries incurred from blunt trauma.
"This was senseless violence on a small animal that posed no danger to him and, if it were a human being (that was harmed), we would charge torture and mayhem," said chief deputy district attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Prosecutors have charged Reeser with two separate felony counts of animal cruelty and a misdemeanor count of destroying or hiding evidence for allegedly stashing the dog in a plastic storage container, according to Wagstaffe.
He faces up to three years six months in state prison if convicted.
Reeser, who was arrested several weeks after the Nov. 20 incident, allegedly told his girlfriend on the day of the beating that Godiva had gotten out and was nowhere to be found.
The next day, his girlfriend's father found Godiva's body, and the Peninsula Humane Society & Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigators found blood in Reeser's house leading to the laundry room area, Wagstaffe said.
Reeser is out of custody on $100,000 bail. He is expected to return to court on April 29 for his preliminary hearing. | Source: insidebayarea.com - Jan 22, 2009
Update posted on Jan 22, 2009 - 7:32PM |
A 27-year-old Burlingame man accused of fatally punching his girlfriend's 7-pound dog faces up to three years in state prison if convicted of the felony animal abuse charges filed against him, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Monday.
Ryan Reeser is charged with two separate felony counts of animal cruelty and a misdemeanor count of destroying or hiding evidence, Wagstaffe said. Reeser faces up to three years in state prison if convicted.
Reeser's girlfriend often stayed at his house in Burlingame and went out the evening of Nov. 20, leaving her 6-year-old miniature pinscher Godiva with Reeser, Wagstaffe said.
Reeser became angry at the dog, landing multiple punches on the animal and dislodging the dog's eye from its socket, according to Wagstaffe.
Wagstaffe said Reeser later told investigators the dog "nipped" him. Reeser's girlfriends told investigators she and Reeser had not been fighting before the incident occurred.
Reeser allegedly told his girlfriend Godiva had gotten out and was nowhere to be found that night. His girlfriend's father came to the home the next morning and found Godiva dead in her plastic carrier about a block and a half from Reeser's house, Wagstaffe said.
Peninsula Humane Society & Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigators allegedly found blood in Reeser's house leading to the laundry room area.
"They quickly determined this (death) was not due to fight with another dog," Wagstaffe said. "(The) veterinarian said very clearly it was a dog who would not have died instantly and would have extensively suffered before dying."
The district attorney's office charged Reeser after obtaining necropsy results and conducting several interviews with him, according to Wagstaffe. The necropsy showed the dog suffered bruising in 13 different places and died of blood loss and injuries incurred from blunt trauma.
Charges were filed Thursday and a $200,000 warrant was issued for Reeser's arrest. Reeser was scheduled to turn himself in to the district attorney's office at some point today or Tuesday and will likely be in court this week, Wagstaffe said. | Source: KTVU - Dec 15, 2008
Update posted on Dec 16, 2008 - 12:29AM |
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