Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | C. Samuel Sutter, Darragh Keith Kasakoff | | Defense(s): | David Jorge | | Judge(s): | Thomas Kirkman |
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 #15607 Rating: 1.0 out of 5
Mother duck intentionally run over
Dartmouth, MA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Jun 13, 2009
County: Bristol
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Joshua S. Linhares
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
A 25-year-old driver from Acushnet accused of running over a duck faces possible animal cruelty charges.
Police said surveillance video shows the driver striking the mother duck Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of the Dartmouth Mall.
Police said the driver did not stop and that he was seen laughing after striking the mother duck.
The driver said it was an accident and that he didn't see the ducks until it was too late. Police said the man told them he left the scene to avoid a confrontation with angry witnesses.
The driver's name has not been released because he has not yet been charged.
The 12 orphaned ducklings are being cared for at a rehabilitation center until they can be released into the wild.
The town's animal control officer, Cheryl Jackson, is familiar with the mother mallard. She said the walk through the mall parking lot is an annual migratory trek.
"She has her babies out in the woods in a nice secluded area where nothing can get to her. When they're large enough, she walks them across the parking lot, across Route 6 in front of Friendly's, and into the stream in the back," Jackson said.
The mother and her ducklings had a close call one year. The babies fell through a storm grate and had to be rescued.
Case UpdatesThe state Appeals Court has reinstated the conviction of an Acushnet man, who ran over and killed a mother duck as she led her 12 tiny ducklings through the Dartmouth Mall parking lot in June 2009.
A jury in New Bedford District Court convicted Joshua Linhares, 26, of animal cruelty, and Judge Thomas Kirkman sentenced the defendant to serve a year on probation in December of that year.
However, Kirkman overturned the jury's verdict on Feb. 3, 2010, and found Linhares not guilty of animal cruelty.
Although Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter strongly criticized the killing of the mother duck, he said he would not appeal the judge's ruling due to financial constraints caused by a $700,000 cut to his budget.
Darragh Keith Kasakoff, a Worcester attorney, stepped in and volunteered to appeal the judge's ruling, after reading about the case. Kasakoff, on behalf of Sutter's office, officially filed an appeal of Judge Kirkman's ruling in May, 2010.
The Appeals Court found in its decision that the trial judge "abused his discretion and committed an error of law when he set aside the guilty verdict and entered a finding of not guilty."
In comments today, Sutter commended Kasakoff for assisting his office.
"I think this is a shining example of where volunteerism can fill in the need for what government cannot take care of because of limits on government resources. Here is an instance that without Attorney Kasakoff, we could not have been able to appeal because of the limits on our appellate resources," Sutter said.
"Due to Attorney Kasakoff's noble action, justice will now be done here. On behalf of the people of Bristol County, I would like to thank him for volunteering his manifest talent in this cause," he said. | Source: southcoasttoday.com - Nov 15, 2011
Update posted on Nov 15, 2011 - 9:24PM |
The former Acushnet man accused of animal cruelty for running over a duck last year in the Dartmouth Mall parking lot is now facing charges of dealing drugs in New Bedford.
Police arrested Joshua Linhares, 26, who now lives on Hillman Street, on June 5 after observing him allegedly selling narcotics to two individuals. Narcotics detectives said they had recently learned that Linhares was selling drugs in the city, court records said.
Linhares was arraigned Tuesday in District Court on distribution of a Class B drug, conspiracy and committing a drug violation near a school zone. He was released on personal recognizance and ordered to return to court Aug. 6.
Meanwhile, Linhares' animal cruelty case is still winding its way through the legal system.
Last month, a District Court judge allowed the Bristol County district attorney's motion for a late notice of appeal to challenge the same judge's earlier ruling that overturned Linhares' animal cruelty conviction.
The case has a convoluted history.
On Dec. 8, 2009, Linhares was convicted after a short District Court trial and received one year of probation. In June 2009, Linhares drove over a mother mallard that was leading her 12 ducklings across the mall parking lot.
His lawyer, David Jorge, appealed to Judge Thomas Kirkman, who presided over the trial, to vacate the jury's verdict because of a lack of evidence.
On Feb. 3, Kirkman allowed Jorge's motion and declared Linhares innocent.
Prosecutors neglected to appeal Kirkman's ruling because the District Attorney's Office decided not to move forward with the appeal because of budget cuts, court records said.
The 30-day deadline for filing the appeal passed.
Things changed when Daragh Keith Kasakoff, a Worcester attorney, contacted the District Attorney's Office to volunteer his services to handle the appeal for free.
The District Attorney's Office subsequently filed a late notice of appeal, arguing that its financial situation created the "excusable neglect" for not filing within the deadline. After a subsequent motion hearing, Kirkman said the case could proceed.
The case is now in the appeals stage.
Meanwhile, New Bedford narcotics police detectives said they recently conducted three "controlled buys" using a confidential informant to purchase drugs from Linhares, who was seen carrying a bag containing small plastic bags normally used in street-level drug sales, court records said.
On June 5, detectives following Linhares saw him stop his vehicle on Woodlawn Street. A man entered the car, which was then driven around the block before letting the man out on the street. Police said the pattern was consistent with drug activity, court records said.
Police also said they saw a suspected hand-to-hand drug transaction between Linhares and another man on Pleasant Street. Detectives approached the alleged customer, but the man reportedly swallowed the object before the officers arrived, court records said.
After stopping Linhares' car, police found $350 in cash on him. Linhares also agreed to allow detectives to go with him to his Hillman Street residence, where he turned over a bag of marijuana and two Suboxone tablets, court records said. | Source: southcoasttoday.com - Jun 9, 2010
Update posted on Jun 11, 2010 - 2:14PM |
The man accused of purposely running over a mother duck is now facing an animal cruelty charge in Massachusetts. Prosecutors say 25-year-old Joshua Linhares of Acushnet intentionally drove his car into a mother duck who was walking through the Dartmouth Mall parking lot last month with her twelve duckings.
The mother duck was killed in the incident. At the time of the accident witnesses said they saw Linhares smiling as he drove towards the duck and laughing after he hit her. None of the ducklings were injured and Animal Control was called in to take custody of them.
The animal cruelty charge, a felony in Massachusetts, was filed after police reviewed surveillance video from the mall. The twelve ducklings who survived are still being raised by Animal Control. | Source: WPRI - July 1, 2009
Update posted on Jul 5, 2009 - 6:54PM |
Twelve tiny ducklings -- orphaned when a driver mowed down their mother in the Dartmouth Mall parking lot â€" have been temporarily adopted by a family in Westport, where they will be cared for until they can be released back into the wild, reports the Standard-Times.
"They are doing very well, eating and swimming," said Dartmouth animal control supervisor Sandra Gosselin. "They are going out for their walks and getting their exercise."
Gosselin said the mother mallard had been nestling for "at least five or six years" in a retention pond behind BJ's and Home Depot at the Dartmouth Towne Center, where there were no snapping turtles to harm her brood.
She said every year she has repeatedly stopped traffic on both sides of Faunce Corner Road as the mother led her ducklings down the ramp from Sears and across the road before splashing into the Paskamansett River. | Source: Boston Herald - June 26, 2009
Update posted on Jul 5, 2009 - 6:53PM |
References« MA State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Bristol County, MA
|
