Attorneys/Judges
| Judge(s): | Joseph Skocelas |
CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #16661 Rating: 1.0 out of 5
Dead, sick animals at abandoned home
Monterey, MI (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Oct 10, 2010
County: Allegan
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Clem Dubose
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
In 1995, Clem Debose was in court after a lion he kept in a cage on his rural Monterey Township property fatally mauled a Fennville woman.
Now, 15 years later, he could face other animal-related charges for allegedly keeping malnourished dogs and exotic birds on that same tract of land on 127th Avenue.
Police want Allegan County prosecutors to issue animal cruelty charges after they found 13 malnourished dogs in cages with no food or water, six malnourished exotic birds and some dead raccoons. They also found a half-eaten parrot.
State police went to the property Sunday on a report that several dogs were in cages with no food or water.
Trooper John Miller checked the property and found that the land -- the site of a demolished house -- appeared abandoned.
Police found the dogs lying in their own feces inside 11 cages and old chicken coops. Officers said they found protruding ribs and hip bones on most of the dogs.
The birds, appearing malnourished and molting, were in a small mobile home on the land in large cages with 4-6 inches of feces on the bottom, Miller said. One bird was dead in a cage.
"It's probably one of the nastiest conditions I've seen in a while," Miller said.
The dogs, beagles and bluetick coonhounds, were taken to the Allegan County animal shelter as well as the birds, four parrots and cockatoo. One of the six birds found at the home died at the shelter.
Police said they discovered several empty cages and coops that appeared to have housed other exotic animals at one point, including bear, lynx and emu.
Miller did not reveal the property owner's name, pending charges against him, but said he was in trouble in 1995 for owning a lion that mauled a woman. When police tracked down the property owner, he could not show proof of vaccination or licensing for the dogs.
Debose, who lives in the 3200 block of 127th Avenue, owned a lion, bear and a liger -- a tiger-lion mix -- in 1995. The victim of the lion attack, Diana Renner, was a friend of Debose who went inside the cage voluntarily to see and touch the lion, but was fatally attacked when she panicked, witnesses at the time said.
Debose, 66, was sentenced to probation on a charge of owning a dangerous animal causing serious injury. He was ordered not to own exotic animals.
Miller said Sunday's visit to Debose's property came after a neighbor reported him, in part because the dogs were always barking. The owner told police he was on a fixed income and did not have the resources to feed the animals, except every two days.
He said he hunted the raccoons, and the half-eaten bird was the victim of a lynx that got loose on the land some time ago.
Neighbor Scott Sulzener said he did not call police, but was concerned about the dogs on the property.
"We pretty well knew they were malnourished with the way they carried on," he said.
Miller said several people already have called police and the animal shelter, hoping to adopt one of the birds.
Case UpdatesA 66-year-old Allegan area man, Clem Debose, today was sentenced to $510 in fine and costs for keeping 13 dogs and five exotic birds that police seized for being undernourished.
Debose was previously in trouble with the law in 1995 when a lion he kept on his property mauled a woman to death.
Debose was sentenced in Allegan County Distict Court today on a misdemeanor count of animal abandonment or cruelty involving 2-3 animals, reduced from a felony animal cruelty charge.
Police seized the dogs and birds from Debose's home last month after getting a tip about their conditions. Police alleged they were underweight and in feces-laden cages.
During a forfeiture hearing, a judge determined that at least some of the dogs should be permanently taken from Debose. | Source: mlive.com - Nov 18,2010
Update posted on Nov 19, 2010 - 1:31AM |
A man facing charges of animal cruelty was back in court on Wednesday.
State Police say they found two dozen animals starving and living in their own filth at Clem Debose's Allegan County home. Investigators say a neighbor tipped off police.
Investigators say more than a dozen dogs were found without food and water, six exotic birds were also found. Investigators say the conditions the animals were living in was terrible.
On Wednesday, as Debose's preliminary hearing continued, a judge pulled back some of the charges against him.
The judge ruled to drop the felony charges against Debose, saying there simply wasn't enough evidence. In the second day of the preliminary hearing, the prosecution dropped one felony charge in exchange for two misdemeanors, however after hearing the evidence, the judge ruled that even one felony charge wasn't right for the crime.
The veterinarian who checked out the thirteen dogs picked up by police in October took the stand to speak about their conditions.
"You could see her ribs, you could see her hip bones protruding through," said veterinarian William Brown. "She was one thin dog."
Brown presented reports one each dog and said four of them were very undernourished. Brown said the rest of the dogs were not properly caged, but didn't seem to be in bad shape. Because of that, the judge threw out the remaining felony charge against Debose.
"In any event, the prosecution charged a four year felony involving ten animals or more, but only presented four," said Judge Joe Skocelas, "so based on that alone, the felony charge is dismissed."
The case against Debose will now start over with the two new misdemeanor charges. | Source: wwmt.com - Nov 3, 2010
Update posted on Nov 3, 2010 - 10:01PM |
The preliminary hearing for Clem Debose, an Allegan County man charged with two counts of animal abandonment or cruelty, has been adjourned for a week to get testimony from a veterinarian who cared for the animals, and to deal with an evidentiary dispute.
A state trooper and an animal control officer testified about the filthy conditions they found on the Monterrey Township property after they responded to a neighbor's complaint about neglected pets.
The defense raised objections to the trooper's alleged use of coercion to gain access to the house on the property, and the judge wants to hear arguments next week on whether some of the evidence should be tossed because of it.
That hearing will be held on November 4th.
The Monterrey Township man had served probation and was ordered not to own any more exotic animals after a lion in his care fatally mauled a Fennville woman 15 years ago.
The now-66-year-old Debose was arrested again on October 10th after a neighbor complaining of constantly barking dogs on his 127th Avenue property called police.
When state troopers came to the site north of the city of Allegan, they found 13 malnourished canines in cages with no food or water, along with six malnourished exotic birds, some dead raccoons, and a half-eaten parrot.
The living animals were taken to the county's animal shelter for recovery, although one of the birds died in transit. | Source: wkzo.com - Oct 28, 2010
Update posted on Oct 28, 2010 - 9:36PM |
Clem Dubose, who in 1995 owned a lion that mauled a woman to death at his home, now faces two felony charges of animal cruelty.
Dubose, 66, was charged after authorities found more than a dozen animals at his property that, police said were malnourished and neglected.
Police found 13 dogs in 11 cages and old chicken coops. The dogs had no food or water and were lying in their own feces, police said on Oct. 11. The dogs were malnourished, and in most cases their ribs and hip bones were showing.
Six exotic birds, molting and malnourished, in large cages were found in a small mobile home on the property. One of the birds was dead.
At his next court appearance on Oct. 27, Dubose will also face an animal forfeiture hearing. | Source: woodtv.com
Update posted on Oct 20, 2010 - 10:18PM |
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