CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #1835 Rating: 1.8 out of 5
Dachshund drowned to death
Jones Beach, NY (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jul 31, 2002
County: Nassau
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Yoichi Nakayama
A sushi chef from Flushing will spend next week in the Nassau County jail for drowning his pet dachshund in the summer of 2002 by repeatedly dunking the pooch underwater at Jones Beach as beachgoers watched in horror.
Yoichi Nakayama, 39, had pleaded guilty to overdriving, torturing and injuring an animal, a crime punishable by up to a year in jail. Overdriving is when one works an animal too hard.
On Friday, minutes before he was sentenced, Nakayama told Nassau County Court Judge Joseph Calabrese in Mineola he regrets that his reckless behavior killed his pet, Noodle.
"Well, I have to apologize for what I had done," Nakayama said in Japanese, translated by an interpreter. He also apologized "for my conduct towards society."
At around noon on Aug. 4, 2002, a hot day on which the beach was packed, Nakayama was playing with his pup in the water at the East Bathhouse Beach, according to Assistant District Attorney Anne Donnelly and the State Park Police.
Donnelly said Nakayama dunked Noodle, a female dog about 5 to 7 years old, repeatedly for 20 to 30 minutes, the length of time Nakayama was in the water. Donnelly said Nakayama's arms were covered with scratches apparently from the dog trying to get away from him. When Nakayama came out of the water, he started to dig a hole. Some witnesses tried to help the dog and others called police. At the time of his arrest, Nakayama said he didn't mean to kill the dog.
Although Calabrese sentenced Nakayama to 15 days in jail, Donnelly said Nakayama has to serve only 80 percent of his sentence, which means he would be released on Dec. 28. However, Donnelly said that because the county jail does not release inmates on the weekend, in all likelihood Nakayama would be free on Dec. 26.
In addition to jail time, Calabrese also ordered Nakayama to perform 125 hours of community service, fined him $1,000, and placed him on 3 years probation.
Although Nakayama's attorney, Sheldon Glass, of Flushing, argued that society would not benefit by having his client go to jail, Donnelly said her office disagrees.
"The district attorney's office was hoping to send a message to the community that inhumane treatment of animals is taken very seriously," Donnelly said Friday. References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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