Dog frozen to death
Williamson, NY (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jan 10, 2003
County: Wayne
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Rickey Holloway
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
The Wayne County District Attorney's Office is looking into a case of possible animal cruelty. On Friday a Williamson Animal Control Officer found a dog frozen to death underneath a recreational vehicle.
The camper is located behind a home on Route 21 in Williamson. Animal Control discovered the male pit bull after responding to the home for a complaint of a barking dog. Authorities said Rickey Holloway is the homeowner. They say he doesn't know how long the dog was dead. He told officers he was watching the dog for a friend. "He lead us to a dog house when we arrived on the scene. There was no dog out there. He last saw the dog three or four days and there was food in the dog bowl," said Wayne County Cruelty Investigator Gary Rose.
There was a report of a second dog on the property, but the animal hasn't been found. If Holloway is charged with cruelty to animals, the maximum penalty is a $1,000.00 fine and a year in jail.
Case UpdatesRichard Holloway of 6379 Route 21 pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges on April 9, 2003. The Williamson man was accused of animal cruelty after a Wayne County animal cruelty investigator and a Williamson animal control officer found a 2-year-old pit bull frozen to death on his property in January. The carcass was discovered frozen to the ground under a motor home behind the house.
A necropsy performed by veterinarian Lee Semiloff at the Williamson Animal Hospital determined that the dog died of starvation and exposure. Semiloff said the dog weighed only 36 pounds, or 20 pounds below normal.
During the investigation, Holloway said that a friend left the dog at his home and he had been caring for the animal for several months. Holloway said the dog broke a chain securing it to a dog house and that he hadn't seen the animal for a couple of days but did put out dog food.
Williamson Town Justice James W. Peters accepted Holloway's plea.
Holloway, who faces a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, will be sentenced June 12.
"We're recommending 60 days in jail, three years' probation, $1,000 fine and that he not be allowed to have any animals in his possession while on probation," said Wayne County District Attorney Richard Healy.
According to his attorney, Mark Krause, Holloway is an oil delivery person who has never been in trouble before.
"Rickey Holloway is a good man," Krause said.
"He's a fine, upstanding citizen. This is just an unfortunate incident that occurred. It was not his intention to have the dog die, but he is willing to live up to his responsibility."
Since his arrest, Krause said Holloway has received an anonymous phone call about the incident.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a Virginia-based organization, sent a letter to Healy in February requesting that he vigorously prosecute Holloway.
"I'm pleased that we were able to obtain a conviction by a plea," Healy said. | Source: Democrat and Chronicle
Update posted on Oct 28, 2005 - 10:12PM |
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