CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #3175 Rating: 3.3 out of 5
Dog beaten with shovel while chained to tree
Richland Hills, TX (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Mar 1, 1997
County: Tarrant
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: James Ray Phipps
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
James Ray Phipps, 51, was sentence to one year in jail, the maximum sentence for the Class A misdeamanor charge of animal cruelty, and was fined $4,000 for the March 1, 1997, incident in North Richland Hills.
Michael Arrenondo still has nightmares about seeing his dog pummeled by a North Richland Hills neighbor two years ago.
Phipps used a steel shovel to attack Otis, an 8-year old chow/collie mix while the animal was chained to a tree in his owner's front yard, a Tarrant County jury decided this week in Fort Worth.
Two months after Otis came home from an animal hospital, where he was treated for injuries from the beating, he was found shot to death. No charges have been filed in connection with the dog's death.
Animal cruelty officials said the conviction and sentence are unusual.
The dog was chained to the tree because a vehicle had slid on ice and had damaged a fence around the front yard.
Otis' eye had to be surgically removed and he suffered permanent injury to his brain, according ot the civil lawsuit.
According to defense testimony this week, Phipps had complained to animal control since about August 1996 that the dog barked and howled often. An animal control officer testified that there had been complaints of barking, but that here had been no complaints that the dog was aggressive. The animal control officer also testified that the dog needs shots.
A civil lawsuit seeks replayment of $1,200 in veterinarian bills, puntiive damages and an unspecified amount for the intentional infliction of emotional distress to Arrenondo, the dog's owner.
Case UpdatesA former Tarrant County businessman accused of defrauding investors of about $21 million in an elaborate Ponzi investment scheme is running as an independent candidate for governor of Alabama.
According to a campaign finance report, James Ray Phipps, 58, had spent $50,000 on his campaign before his arrest this week.
His arrest was not the first time he has had trouble with the law, according to Tarrant County criminal court records. He was convicted of animal cruelty and sentenced to a year in jail in 1999 for attacking a neighbor's dog with a steel shovel while the animal was chained to a tree in his owner's front yard in North Richland Hills. He also was sentenced to 25 days in jail in 2001 for evading arrest in Tarrant County, according to criminal records.
Phipps, formerly of Arlington and now of Alexandria, Ala., was arrested Tuesday outside a post office in Anniston, Ala., days after a Fort Worth federal grand jury indicted him.
Phipps, who ran a business program called Life Without Debt from an office in Colleyville, is charged with 13 counts of money laundering, three counts of mail fraud, three counts of income tax evasion and one count each of wire fraud and corruptly endeavoring to impede and obstruct Internal Revenue Service laws.
The former Tarrant County businessman, who listed his campaign slogan as "Ready to bring Economic Freedom for You," remained in federal custody Friday in Birmingham, Ala.
Demetrius Newton, Phipps' attorney at a bond hearing on Thursday, said that Phipps will not fight extradition to Texas.
"Mr. Phipps was denied bail," Newton said. "The U.S. marshals will take him back to Texas within two to three days."
Phipps filed a notice of his intent to run for governor on Jan. 17. He must gather 41,012 signatures to be eligible for the 2006 election, and he had turned in 60 signatures as of this week, according to Alabama election records.
In his notice of intent, Phipps said that he had moved to Alabama four years ago from Texas, noting that his 35 years of working within the marketing profession would be a benefit to the state.
"He totally came out of the blue, but he had a slick multimedia package that was very impressive," said Ed Packard, an election administrator for the Alabama Secretary of State. "He came across as very professional and organized."
Records show that Phipps had spent about $35,000 on audio supplies, air time on radio and print supplies.
Phipps listed himself as the chairman of his campaign committee, according to Alabama election records. He listed Susan Eckert-Goins as a committee member and Jerry D. Denney as campaign treasurer. Denney and Eckert-Goins could not be reached Friday.
On his campaign Web site, Phipps said that his knowledge of the law, money, credit, taxes and the IRS helped him form the Life Without Debt program. He also had a Plan for Alabama 2006 investment program for residents of the state. | Source: Star-Telegram - April 21, 2006
Update posted on Apr 21, 2006 - 1:31PM |
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