After shooting his neighbor's dog and hiding it in a 55-gallon drum, a Fenton Township man told a deputy he "screwed up" and wanted to know if he was going to be in trouble, the deputy testified Tuesday.
"I asked him why he took so much time hiding the dog," said Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Iski. "He said he didn't want anyone to find out he shot the dog and was going to get rid of it."
John Pasqualin, 66, was ordered to stand trial on a felony animal cruelty charge for shooting Lexie, a chocolate Labrador retriever who wandered onto his property July 25.
Pasqualin initially denied seeing Lexie, but later admitted shooting her to protect his chickens, according to testimony in his preliminary examination.
Central District Judge John L. Conover set an Aug. 11 arraignment in Genesee County Circuit Court.
Defense attorney Thomas A. Warda argued that Pasqualin had "every right" to shoot the dog, citing a century-old law that says it's OK to kill an animal if it's threatening your livestock.
"It's an old law, but it's good law," said Warda, who said he found a court ruling upholding that concept. "For the prosecutor to bring this case, I think it's a failure to do their homework."
The dog's owner, Rob Coote, said Lexie and her sister, Alex, pushed open a loose fence board in their yard on Torrey Road and took off across a field toward Pasqualin's property.
Coote said he chased after the dogs, going as far as Pasqualin's property line, before hearing two gunshots. He and his wife, Jamie Bailey, drove to Pasqualin's house on Ray Road and confronted him about the dog, but he denied seeing her, Coote said.
Iski said Pasqualin was preparing a bonfire on his property when the deputy arrived at the address. The dog was found in a 55-gallon drum stacked with tires in a small barn on the property, Iski said.
Pasqualin said he fired a shotgun round at the dog from his balcony, wounded it, and followed it down to a pond, where he shot it again to "put it out of its misery," Iski said.
The deputy said he found blood next to the pond but no signs the dog had been near the chicken coop.
When Warda asked if he thought Pasqualin had a legal right to protect his chickens, Iski said, "That's not what we thought was going on."
Sgt. Tom Pyles, a detective with the sheriff's department, said Pasqualin expressed remorse for shooting the dog during an interview two days later.
Warda argued that Pasqualin was concerned because a similar-looking dog had previously carried off one of his chickens.
But Conover noted that Lexie had not attacked his chickens on the day she was shot and said a jury needs to decide the issue. Case UpdatesA judge dismissed a charge of killing an animal after the accused Fenton Township man completed 25 hours of community service at Genesee County Animal Control.
John A. Pasqualin, 68, now has no felony conviction for shooting a dog that allegedly threatened his chickens.
Genesee Circuit Judge Richard B. Yuille dismissed the charge on March 19, six months after taking Pasqualin's plea under advisement.
Pasqualin pleaded no contest last year to killing an animal, but under terms of the plea deal, would have no criminal conviction if he completed community service at the Humane Society of Genesee County.
Pasqualin told Yuille he was not allowed to perform the community service at the Humane Society, but he did it at the county office instead. He completed the 25 hours in November.
Pasqualin was charged with shooting Lexie, his neighbor's chocolate Labrador retriever, on July 25, 2005.
Police reports indicate Lexie did not return home and the owners of the dog approached Pasqualin, who ordered them from his property.
Pasqualin initially told police he was shooting at woodchucks on his property and denied shooting a dog
But after Lexie was found in a 55-gallon drum, Pasqualin admitted shooting it, saying it was attacking his chickens.
Later, police and prosecutors learned the dog, then with a previous owner, had killed at least nine chickens and three emus in a neighboring county, causing that owner to pay for damages. | Source: The Flint Journal - March 20, 2007
Update posted on Mar 22, 2007 - 12:55PM |
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