2-month old goat sexually assaulted
Zebulon, NC (US)Incident Date: Saturday, May 7, 2005
County: Wake
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Antonio Coria
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Every night since finding a naked man inside her goat bin in July 2004, Beverly Currin has slept with the screen door open. Even as temperatures dipped below freezing in the winter, she wanted to hear if her goats - her pets, essentially - were being assaulted.
On the evening of May 7, 2005, Currin heard those cries again at 11:22. But this time, she wasn't going to let the perpetrator run away.
Wake County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Antonio Coria, 48, May 7 on charges of crime against nature, cruelty to animals, and breaking and entering. Coria, of 110 East Lee St., Zebulon, remained in Wake County jail in lieu of $9,000 bail.
Currin, who raises cattle and goats on a farm beside Little River Park off N.C. 97, claims someone has been assaulting her goats since last July. Previously, she found one goat dead at a feeding trough, strangled by a belt. On other occasions, semen-stained shirts were left at the scene. And last September, Currin’s boyfriend, Vernon Pearce, tried to apprehend a naked man they said assaulted another goat. They blame Coria for each assault.
“Saturday night was his lucky night. We caught him,” Currin said.
Currin said she woke up to a 2-month-old goat squalling — uncommon unless the goat was separated from its mother. With her night-vision goggles, she saw the herd of goats out in the pasture — also uncommon that time of night. “So I thought I’d better check the barn. There is something going on out there. ... We figured that he was out there again.”
Up watching the NASCAR race, Vernon Pearce grabbed his shotgun and tiptoed through the yard as Currin followed. Pearce then looked into the stable to find Coria, without his shirt, assaulting the young animal. After Pearce locked the paddock door, Currin rushed inside to phone the sheriff’s department, and other nearby relatives to secure the premises. “There was no way for him to get away,” she said.
Pearce said that Coria made no efforts to flee or try and plead his case. In the July incident, Pearce said that Coria — “stark naked as when he came out of the womb” — wedged himself in the barn’s roof. Grabbing his boots and pants, Coria fled, but left behind a belt, they said.
According to court records, Coria is scheduled to appear in Wake County courts in June on his third drunk driving charge. In May 2004, he was found guilty of drunk driving and had his license revoked for 30 days. A second driving while impaired charge that allegedly occurred on December 11, 2004, was dismissed in Johnston County court a few months later.
Cynthia Jager, Johnston County assistant district attorney, said the reason for a dismissal was likely the result of the arresting officer, a Johnston County sheriff’s deputy, not showing up in court on two scheduled dates. She said it was unfortunate he wasn’t prosecuted at that time, but the charge could be brought up at a later date.
Case UpdatesWake County sheriff's investigators on May 31 filed additional charges against Coria, 48, of 110 East Lee St. The Zebulon roofer was charged with a felony count of cruelty to animals for slaying one goat on July 2, 2004 and attempted cruelty to an animal for a Sept. 8, 2004 assault on another goat, arrest records show. For the latter, he also faces a felony breaking and entering charge.
A shocking story garnering national attention, Coria was initially arrested on May 7 by Wake sheriff's deputies after Currin and her boyfriend, Vernon Pearce, found the shirtless man inside a stable with a 2-month-old male goat. At that time, Coria was charged with felony crimes against nature, and two misdemeanors, cruelty to animals and breaking and entering.
Wake Assistant District Attorney Susan Spurlin on may 31 asked for a harsher penalty after learning of prior incidents allegedly involving Coria at the Zebulon farm. Coria, who sat in court shielding his face, was placed on house arrest.
A grand jury on June 7 was scheduled to hear the evidence against Coria. It could lead to an indictment, then a trial date if he pleads innocent to the charges.
Coria was released from Wake County jail on May 23 after posting the $9,000 bail. His family denied comment when contacted. | Source: easternwakenews.com - June 8, 2005
Update posted on Jun 12, 2005 - 6:30PM |
References« NC State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Wake County, NC
|
