A Bryan woman whose home has been raided by animal control officers several times in past years was in municipal court again on Aug 4, 2005 - this time pleading not guilty to more than 30 new misdemeanor charges.
Animal control workers with the Bryan Police Department raided Diane McInnes' Barak Lane home June 14, 2005 citing her for operating a kennel in a single-family zone and keeping more than four adult dogs without a permit.
In addition, she was charged with 15 counts of not having county dog licenses for the animals and another 15 counts of keeping dogs without proof of current rabies vaccinations.
Generally, the fine for operating an illegal kennel is $500, and the fine for each of the other 31 charges would be $210. All are Class C misdemeanors - the equivalent of a traffic violation.
However, if the case goes to trial, a judge or jury can assess fines of anywhere between $1 and $2,000 for each of the offenses, according to Bryan's city attorney, Michael Cosentino.
No trial date has been set, but attorneys are expected to meet with Municipal Judge Latham Boone III for another pretrial hearing regarding the case Aug. 30.
The Aug 4 hearing was not McInnes' first in Boone's courtroom. After a January 2004 raid, Boone determined that 40 of her animals were cruelly confined, ordering her to give up 20 dogs to the Brazos Animal Shelter and to sell 19 birds.
Several months later her home was raided again, causing a justice of the peace to order that 14 dogs and 12 birds be removed permanently from her home. Another three dogs seized during the May 2004 raid died due to health problems.
During that hearing, animal control officer Patti Stepp described finding a room in McInnes' house that contained 18 puppies in cages and emitted a "putrid smell."
McInnes was fined $250 in municipal court several weeks later for operating a kennel in a single-family zone. She also had been fined one other time - in 1999 - for keeping more than four dogs in her home, according to court records.
McInnes plans to fight the current charges, according to defense attorney Bruno Shimek. The dogs seized in June still were puppies - too young to require licenses or vaccinations, he explained.
"This is really a squabble between neighbors that the city has gotten involved in," he said, referring to neighbor Jarvis Miller, a former president of Texas A&M University who Shimek said is responsible for lodging all of the complaints.
"We don't think they have any evidence to prove their case," he added. "She's being singled out for persecution and hasn't done anything wrong."
Regardless of the outcome of the current case, McInnes "shouldn't have any misunderstandings anymore about what's required," according to Cosentino. He and Bryan Police Chief Michael Strope met with the homeowner last month in an attempt to make things clear, he said.
However, if trouble continues, Cosentino said the city has another option it might consider: filing a request for a permanent injunction in civil court. If approved by a district court judge, the injunction would offer a permanent solution, allowing McInnes to be held in contempt of court - and possibly put in jail - if she violated an ordinance again. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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