Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Jessica Lorusso | | Judge(s): | Vincent Versaci, Karen Drago |
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CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #16112 Rating: 4.0 out of 5
2 dogs tortured, 1 burned
Schenectady, NY (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Oct 1, 2009
County: Schenectady
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Thomas Hendricks, II
Case Updates: 7 update(s) available
The 28-year-old city man accused of torturing to death two small dogs and badly burning a third one over the past two months has an extensive criminal history, according to police and court records.
Thomas Hendricks II was arraigned on January 26, 2010 on three counts of felony aggravated animal cruelty and misdemeanor menacing in connection with the alleged crimes, which occurred on three separate occasions -- the most recent incident of which occurred on Sunday, according to the criminal complaint.
City Court Judge Vincent Versaci set bail at $2,500. He said the Schenectady man, who is married, has 10 prior convictions for a variety of offenses, including unlawful imprisonment, menacing and several charges of harassment.
Police learned of the alleged abuse after responding to a domestic dispute call Monday at the Hendricks home at 122 Front St. in the city's Stockade area.
Police say the first dog was killed sometime during the second week of December after Hendricks apparently became upset after a female long-haired dachshund named Beary urinated in the house.
He is accused of drowning the animal in a bathtub by holding her nose and mouth under water and then "squeezing" the animal to death.
A second animal, a female toy poodle named Carmella, was badly burned on her legs and backside on Jan. 12, 2010, when Hendricks allegedly held her under scalding hot water. Police also said he pulled the hair from the dog's legs.
The most recent incident occurred on January 24, 2010, when Hendricks allegedly killed another long-haired dachshund named Fudge by hitting the animal once with a pool stick.
Police say two of the dogs were targeted because of excessive barking.
In addition to animal abuse, Hendricks also faces charges of misdemeanor menacing for allegedly punching his wife, Melissa Hendricks, 33, in the head and threatening to do more physical harm during the incident Sunday.
Judge Versaci also issued a temporary order of protection barring him from contacting his wife, who was in court for the hearing but later declined comment.
"This is a classic furtherance of the domestic violence behavior of him forcing her to watch her animals be tortured and killed," said David Dean, a spokesman with the Schenectady County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
He also said that the animal rights group, on January 26, 2010, had recovered the remains of the dog killed in December 2009, and that the injured animal would by taken today to the veterinarian.
Case UpdatesA Schenectady man who admitted killing his wife's two dachshund puppies and scalding her toy poodle was sentenced to two years in the county jail.
Judge Karen Drago sentenced Thomas Hendricks II to the maximum allowed under state law for aggravated animal cruelty.
Schenectady County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Lorusso said Hendricks held one puppy's face under running water and squeezed it until it was dead, and beat another puppy to death with a pool cue. He held the poodle under scalding water, but it recovered and was adopted by another family.
Lorusso said Hendricks tortured and killed the dogs to get back at his wife. | Source: wktv.com - May 18, 2010
Update posted on Jun 9, 2010 - 5:50PM |
The story of Carmella, a toy poodle who endured severe burns to her legs and backside, has a happy ending.
On Thursday, the puppy was given to Arlene Conway of Colonie. The Schenectady County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals agreed allow Conway to adopt Carmella after several home visits. Conway has renamed the dog Angel.
The puppy was badly burned in January after Thomas Hendricks II of Schenectady held her under scalding water and ripped out her fur, the man told police. Two other dogs in Hendricks' care were tortured to death. He was charged with three counts of felony aggravated animal cruelty and misdemeanor menacing, but took a plea deal March 17. He faces two years in prison when he is sentenced.
"She is in the care of a wonderful, loving new owner," said SPCA spokesman David Dean. "With the generous support of this pet-loving community, we are working toward ending similar incidents of abuse." | Source: Times-Union - March 26, 2010
Update posted on Jul 8, 2010 - 2:17AM |
Sentencing for Hendricks is scheduled for May 12 in Schenectady County. If you would like to send a polite letter to the judge in this case, urging jail time and mandatory psychological counseling, write to:
Schenectady County
Honorable Judge Karen Drago
612 State Street
Schenectady, NY 12305-2112
(518) 285-8429
Make sure your letter includes your printed name, your written signature, the date you are writing the letter, and the name or number of the case. | | Update posted on Apr 14, 2010 - 9:56AM |
A convicted felon who tortured to death two of his estranged wife's dogs and badly injured a third pooch pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony animal cruelty and faces two years behind bars, officials said.
Thomas Hendricks admitted to the torture while facing a separate contempt charge, for disobeying an order of protection, that could have sent him to state prison for two to four years.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of felony animal cruelty, receiving the maximum time possible under the state's "Buster's Law," passed in 1999 to punish the most heinous animal abusers.
Police learned of the torture after responding to a domestic call at the Hendricks' home in the city's Stockade neighborhood.
He first drowned one dog in a bathtub, then badly maimed a female toy poodle on Jan. 12 when he held her under scalding water. Investigators said he also yanked hair from the dog's legs.
Then on Jan. 24 he killed another dachshund, hitting it with a pool stick.
Hendricks, who has a prior weapon conviction, will be sentenced by Judge Karen Drago in Schenectady County Court.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jessica Lorusso. | Source: Times-Union.com - Mar 18, 2010
Update posted on Mar 19, 2010 - 4:32PM |
Thomas Hendricks II, who is charged with torturing to death his estranged wife's two small dogs and badly burning a third animal, faces new accusations that he violated a restraining order to stay away from the woman.
He was arraigned Tuesday in City Court on the new felony criminal contempt charges and sent to the Schenectady County jail in lieu of $30,000.
In arguing against bail, the prosecutor had told Judge Christine Clark that Hendricks, 28, has had other brushes with the law since being arrested last month on the animal-cruelty charges. He is accused of a drug offense and motor vehicle violations after being stopped on Jan. 31 by police near Rochester, according to Assistant District Attorney Jessica Lorusso. She said he bolted from a car and tried to flee after being pulled over in the town of Victor, Ontario County. He also allegedly had marijuana and was driving without a license, Lorusso told the court.
Additionally, Hendricks is wanted on an arrest warrant from Montgomery County and has a 2007 conviction for criminal contempt, according to court papers.
The prosecutor also said the defendant lied about his employment and was using his mother's Schenectady address.
Hendricks' attorney, Leslie Lewis, didn't dispute the prosecutors' assertions. Bail was set $30,000 cash.
The new criminal complaint charges alleges that earlier this month Hendricks went to his estranged wife Melissa Hendricks' Front Street home and intimidated her into driving him to New Hartford in Oneida County, flouting a stay-away order of protection issued by Clark following his arrest on a misdemeanor menacing count for allegedly punching her in the head.
A grand jury is looking into the criminal case.
In January, Henricks was charged with three counts of felony aggravated animal cruelty and misdemeanor menacing in connection three incidents over the past two months.
Police learned of the alleged animal abuse after responding to a domestic dispute call at the Hendricks home in Schenectady's Stockade neighborhood. Police say the first dog was killed sometime during the second week of December after Hendricks apparently became upset when a long-haired dachshund urinated in the house.
Hendricks is accused of drowning the animal in a bathtub. A second animal, a female toy poodle, was badly burned on Jan. 12 when Hendricks allegedly held her under scalding hot water. Police also said he pulled the hair from the dog's legs. On Jan. 24 he allegedly killed another dachshund by hitting the animal once with a pool stick. Police say two of the dogs were targeted because of excessive barking. | Source: Times-Union - Feb 24, 2010
Update posted on Feb 24, 2010 - 9:49AM |
A Schenectady man accused of torturing dogs is scheduled to be in court today.
The hearing for Thomas Hendricks will determine if his case will be moved up to county court.
Police say he drowned at least one dog and fatally beat another. A third dog was burned with hot water, but survived.
Hendricks currently faces three counts of animal cruelty. | Source: WTEN - Feb 23, 2010
Update posted on Feb 23, 2010 - 8:12PM |
Thomas Hendricks was not happy to see the media as he walked into Schenectady City Court on Friday. The 28-year old pushed our NEWS10 camera and shoved microphones out of his way, cursing as he passed by.
Hendricks faces felony charges for beating a dog to death with a pool stick and drowning another.
He has told NEWS10 he's innocent, and remains out of jail on $2,500 bail.
Despite the felony charges, there are serious concerns among animal advocates, that those convicted of abuse don't receive a harsh enough penalty.
Valerie Lang, an assistant professor of animal law at Hudson Valley Community College, isn't just horrified at the thought of murdered dogs in Schenectady, she's also frustrated.
"I always know we're going to have to push the authorities to come down hard."
Lang is also part of Rensselaer County's Animal Protection Coalition. She argues police officers aren't trained well enough to deal with cases like that of Hendricks'.
"Even the district attorneys are not adequately versed in this law, so other cases will take priority," she tells NEWS10
But Schenectady District Attorney Bob Carney's office tells NEWS10 it takes these kinds of cases very seriously, getting several felony convictions since New York's animal cruelty legislation "Buster's Law" went into effect in 1999.
Schenectady police admit they have less experience dealing with pets than people, but said in a statement Friday, "In the case of animal cruelty, we bring in the experts. For example, we contact an animal control officer, or if it's more severe, like the death of an animal, we contact the Schenectady County SPCA, who are trained."
That's what we saw Tuesday, when police and the SPCA removed the body of a dog from Hendricks' home.
Lang also worries that New York needs tougher penalties.
"We are lax in many ways," she says.
Buster's Law calls for up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. But nationwide, at least 34 states have longer prison times; three to ten years in some states. And at least 25 states have larger fines, from $7,500 to $500,000.
The assistant district attorney prosecuting Hendricks' case says she will do everything possible to get a felony conviction, knowing full well the high correlation between abuse of animals and abuse of people.
Still, Hendricks insists he's innocent. | Source: News 10 - January 29, 2010
Update posted on Feb 3, 2010 - 8:08PM |
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