Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Derek Riker, Erin O'Brien | | Defense(s): | Thomas Odell Fitzpatrick | | Judge(s): | Charles J. Cunningham III |
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CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #16139 Rating: 2.2 out of 5
Dog set on fire front of his children
Philadelphia, PA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Jan 28, 2010
County: Philadelphia
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 2 files available
Defendant/Suspect: John William Fleet
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Police said a man allegedly set his dog on fire in front of his children in a stunning case of animal cruelty.
SPCA officers raided a Sanger Street home in Oxford Circle on January 28, 2010. They said the dog was still alive when they got there.
Police and animal welfare officials say 33-year-old John Fleet was arrested Friday after his children told a school counselor about the incident. He has been charged with animal cruelty.
George Bengal of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the children reported their father became enraged January 28, 2010, when the dog nipped at them.
Bengal says the 5-month-old pit bull mix was badly burned, with charring on its neck and ears. He says the dog might lose sight in one eye. The SPCA said the man used an accelerant to light the dog and a couch on fire because it bit one of his kids.
Fleet told investigators the dog was burned accidentally. The listed phone number for Fleet was disconnected.
A spokesman for the SPCA said the dog is in bad shape.
"The dog is not in good condition at all. It's got a lot of burn marks all over the face. We had information also about some cigarette burns on the dog," the SPCA's George Bengal said.
Case UpdatesJan. 28, 2010, was the ultimate stressful day for John W. Fleet III.
He was working full-time, his marriage was over, he was fighting to keep shared custody of his two children - and he was drinking too much.
Then the dog bit at his 11-year-old son.
"I took it out on the dog," Fleet, 34, told a Philadelphia judge Friday, an understatement considering that he set the five-month-old pit-bull mix on fire in front of his children.
Fleet pleaded no contest to animal cruelty, child endangerment, and corrupting a minor, and learned that he had accomplished just what he had been fighting to avoid: He lost his children.
Common Pleas Court Judge Charles J. Cunningham III sentenced Fleet immediately to two to seven years in prison, a plea deal that bars him from contact with his now 13-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son while he is in prison and during seven years' probation that are to follow.
Fleet, who came close to pleading guilty several times over the last two days while his lawyer and the prosecutor picked a prospective jury, initially balked in mid-plea when he heard the condition. He erupted in tears, threw down the plea document, and said he wanted a trial.
After a two-hour break he returned, resigned, and told Cunningham, "I'll stay away forever. It's fine. Not a problem."
After the incident, Fleet first told police the dog had been burned accidentally when it jumped over an open flame. But his children later told a school counselor that their father became enraged when the dog nipped at them. The children said Fleet made them hold the dog while he rubbed it with alcohol and set it on fire. They said he later offered them money to keep quiet about what had happened.
Assistant District Attorney Erin O'Brien said Fleet's children were most concerned that their father be kept away: "They're petrified of him."
O'Brien said the order could later be revisited with a Family Court judge if both sides agreed.
O'Brien said the dog survived with minor facial scarring and was with a foster family that planned to adopt the animal.
"I think Mr. Fleet is remorseful and did what was in the best interests of everyone involved," said defense attorney Thomas Odell Fitzpatrick.
Before the incident, Fitzpatrick added, Fleet was a homeowner, a taxpayer, and working and providing for his children.
"I think now he'll get some therapy and counseling, which is much needed, and hopefully Mr. Fleet will get his life back on track," Fitzpatrick said. | Source: philly.com - Mar 12, 2011
Update posted on Mar 12, 2011 - 10:46PM |
A Philadelphia man has been ordered held for trial following the testimony of his 11-year-old son.
The boy testified on Wednesday to the horror of watching his father set fire to a pet puppy. A 12-year-old sister also saw part of the incident.
Now, 33-year-old John Fleet has been ordered to stand trial on charges of arson, cruelty to animals, and more.
The son testified that he and his sister had told their dad that his pet pitbull puppy had nipped at them, and the son testified that the father responded by burning the dog with a cigarette and then pouring rubbing alcohol on the dog's face.
Then, as the boy described it, the father "lit the dog's face."
Prosecutor Derek Riker:
"Both kids testified that they were extremely scared and they were very upset by what they saw. To see this dog running around on fire completely traumatized them."
The burning dog jumped on a couch, setting the couch on fire, but the children say the father and son put out both.
The children later told a school official about the incident even though, they say, their father had offered them $30 to keep their mouths shut.
The dog is now in foster care. The children are with their mother.
Bail for John Fleet, who is in custody, has been reduced from $1 million to $200,000. | Source: kyw.com - Mar 17, 2010
Update posted on Mar 19, 2010 - 2:42PM |
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