Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Megan Mellem | | Defense(s): | Scott Levy | | Judge(s): | Robert Sackett |
CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #18438 Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Dog abandoned in apartment, dies
Bronx, NY (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010
County: Bronx
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Cherika S. Alvarez
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A careless Bronx woman was convicted of animal cruelty Wednesday for leaving her dog to starve to death.
Cherika S. Alvarez, 30, abandoned her brown 1-year-old pit bull Alizé when she was evicted from her Belmont basement apartment in mid-November 2009.
The malnourished dog ate nothing but razor blades, splintered plastic, wood chips, garbage and ketchup packets for six weeks before he died.
Officials from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found the dog lifeless amid piles of garbage and bloody stools on Jan. 5, 2010. The pup's body had no body fat, and was so emaciated that his remains had to be scraped off the floorboards.
The single mom - who claimed she left some food and water for the dog in the bathtub - testified she had arranged for a neighbor she barely knew to pick up Alizé. But the unidentified stranger never showed.
"I didn't know him from a hole in the wall," testified Alvarez. "I didn't get any information from him. I should have been more smart. Me being irresponsible, I didn't check up on the dog."
During a bench trial, Alvarez's lawyer, Scott Levy, argued she had no idea the dog was left behind.
"She treated that dog like family," Levy said. "If Ms. Alvarez had known the dog was in the apartment suffering, she would have done something."
Prosecutors suggested Alvarez had fictionalized her story about making arrangements with a neighbor.
"She left Alizé in that apartment like garbage and she walked away," said Bronx Assistant District Attorney Megan Mellem.
Judge Robert Sackett decided Alvarez's behavior amounted to cruelty. She faces up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine at her Sept. 28 sentencing.
Case UpdatesA distraught Bronx woman escaped a jail sentence Wednesday after her weepy apology for leaving a pet pit bull to starve inside her abandoned apartment.
Cherika Alvarez was sentenced to 20 days community service on her August conviction in the slow and painful death of her malnourished dog, 1-year-old Alize.
"I'm really sorry for what happened," the sobbing suspect told Judge Robert Sackett. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I'm going to live with it for the rest of my life. I learned my lesson. I would never even hurt a cockroach."
The 30-year-old Alvarez became the target of widespread scorn after her arrest for leaving the dog alone in a Bronx apartment following her November 2009 eviction.
Her school-age son, her brother and her mother were all confronted by angry people aware of the canine cruelty, according to Alvarez's attorney.
The starving dog ate garbage, razor blades, wood chips and ketchup packets in a desperate effort to stay alive before dying after six weeks alone in the apartment, authorities said.
When arrested, Alvarez claimed that she made arrangements with a neighbor she barely knew to keep an eye on the pet - although prosecutors suggested otherwise.
"This was a case of utter negligence," said Assistant District Attorney Megan Mellem.
Prosecutors in the case asked for 30 days behind bars and 30 days of community service, although the judge said that sentence wasn't necessary.
Sackett also barred the woman from owning a pet for the next three years. | Source: nydailynews.com - Sep 28, 2011
Update posted on Sep 30, 2011 - 12:06AM |
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