3 goats stabbed, resulting in death
Royal Oak, MI (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Feb 3, 2010
County: Oakland

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: John William Hoose, III

A Royal Oak man who stabbed three goats in Livingston County was sentenced Thursday to at least 23 months in prison.

Circuit Judge David Reader sentenced John William Hoose III to a maximum of four years in prison, but said the 20-year-old man could do boot camp after serving at least six months.

Hoose had earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of killing/torturing an animal for stabbing the goats.

"I'm terribly sorry," Hoose said, noting that he feels "ashamed" of his actions. "I don't know why it happened."

The owner's mother, Pam Murphy, said her family feels violated after the attack on their pets.

At a preliminary hearing, the owner of the goats testified that she found her goat named Abby, whom she had for eight years, dead at her Oceola Township property. She said she found a second goat, Emma, had blood on her from a cut that left the animal's intestines hanging out of her body.

A family member found the third goat, Tess, who also had a stab mark behind her shoulder; she was limping. Emma had to be euthanized that day, and Tess died four days later due to bacteria from her wound.

Justin Pless, who said he has been friends with Hoose since sixth grade, testified that he and the defendant had been "drinking beer and hanging out" when they decided "it would be funny to pull a prank" and let the goats out of the pen.

He said Hoose used wire cutters to cut through one or two fences -- police say two -- and they began shooing the goats toward the opening when he saw Hoose pull out a 6-inch knife and stab a goat in the back.

Assistant Prosecutor Pamela Maas expressed concern, noting that if Hoose was "morally devoid" of feelings for living things, "I worry for his future."

References

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