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Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Matheu Nunn | | Defense(s): | Eric J. Weiss | | Judge(s): | B Theodore Bozonelis |
Squirrels drowned
Pequannock, NJ (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010
County: Morris
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: John J Amore
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Police say a township man drowned squirrels in Woodland Lake last month.
On Tuesday, May 11 at 9:33 a.m., Pequannock Police were called to the lake on a report of a man that was allegedly attempting to drown trapped squirrels in the lake.
When the police arrived, they spoke with Ruth Ann Foglia, an assistant at the Pequannock Township Animal Shelter. She told police that she had saved a squirrel from drowning by using a stick to get the squirrel's cage out of the water.
Shannon Casserly, the township's animal control officer, investigated the matter and eventually charged John J. Amore, 47, of Pompton Plains, with abandoning a disabled animal and torturing, mutilating or killing a living animal.
He was released pending a Municipal Court appearance.
Case UpdatesA Pequannock man who was accused of trying to drown a squirrel in a public lake has resolved an animal cruelty charge by pleading guilty to an act of leaving an impaired animal.
Defense lawyer Eric J. Weiss confirmed Friday that Pompton Plains resident John J. Amore, 47, went to Pequannock Municipal Court several weeks ago to resolve a disorderly persons offense lodged against him in May.
Weiss said that Amore had no intention of harming the squirrel but couldn't afford the expense and time of a trial. He also was aware that a few witnesses were prepared to testify they saw him try to drown a squirrel contained within a Havahart live animal cage trap in Woodland Lake in Pequannock on May 11, Weiss said.
Amore was fined about $250 and told to complete a period of community service, Weiss said. The exact terms were not immediately available Friday.
On Amore's behalf, Weiss appeared in state Superior Court, Morristown, in August to ask Assignment Judge B. Theodore Bozonelis to dismiss the animal cruelty charge on the grounds it was too trivial to prosecute. Weiss argued that squirrels are nothing more than rats with furry tails.
But the judge and Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Matheu Nunn had disagreed, saying that state Division of Fish and Wildlife regulations state that squirrels are protected in New Jersey from being killed by private citizens. The judge would not dismiss the charge and told Amore he could fight it in municipal court.
''My client made no admissions of drowning or trying to drown a squirrel,'' Weiss said Friday. ''He never had a purpose to be cruel.''
Weiss said in August that Amore got Havahart traps to catch squirrels that were destroying vegetation and ruining the interior of his home. He brought some of the captured squirrels to Woodland Lake in May and a woman standing a distance away called police, reporting that she saw a man dragging a cage by a rope to the water and trying to drown a squirrel inside it.
Weiss has said the squirrel actually got away and survived. | Source: Daily Record - October 15, 2010
Update posted on Oct 15, 2010 - 8:16PM |
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