Two dogs fatally shot
Webbers Falls, OK (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Mar 25, 2006
County: Muskogee
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Acquitted
Person of Interest: James Chou Yang
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Muskogee County farmer accused of shooting and killing two dogs hunting coyotes on his property was charged with animal cruelty.
James Yang, 43, of Webbers Falls also faces a misdemeanor charge of obstructing an officer because of his alleged attempt to withhold information from investigators.
Muskogee County Undersheriff Juston Hutchinson said four men were using dogs to hunt coyotes during the latter part of March southwest of Webbers Falls. He said the hunters heard gunshots after two of their dogs ran onto Yang's property.
The men tracked down one of the dogs the next morning by following an electronic beacon on the dog's collar, and was tracking down the second dog when the signal died.
Hutchinson said Yang initially denied knowing anything about the dogs, but later told investigators he had burned the second dog and its collar.
"He told us later that he shot the dogs because they had been chasing his cattle," Hutchinson said.
Oklahoma law provides a defense to anyone accused of killing an animal if the accused acts in defense of person or property. The defensive acts must be "reasonably proportionate to the kind and amount of danger presented by the animal."
Yang is free on $5,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. Sept. 13 for a preliminary hearing in Muskogee County District Court.
Case UpdatesJurors deliberated about an hour before acquitting a Webbers Falls farmer charged with animal cruelty after he shot and killed two hunting dogs he said were chasing cattle on his property.
James Yang, 44, also was acquitted of two misdemeanor charges: obstructing an officer and destruction of evidence. The obstruction charge alleged Yang was uncooperative during law enforcers' investigation; the second misdemeanor was based on the incineration of one of the dogs that died on Yang's property.
Yang's lawyers, Charles Kania and James Wirth, argued that their client had a legal right to protect his property from the dogs, which a group of coyote hunters had let run loose across the countryside the night of March 25, 2006.
Wirth told jurors in his opening remarks - and again during his closing argument - the case would be an easy one to decide. His declaration was based on the facts of the case and the defenses available to his client.
"The only thing Mr. Yang did wrong was to buy property in the middle of an area these hunters think they own," Wirth said.
The dog's owners were angered by the decision. But at the urging of Eric Johnson, who prosecuted the case for the state, they declined to comment about the trial's outcome.
Kania said after the trial he believed jurors were - and Muskogee County residents should be - outraged Yang's case was filed, let alone brought to trial. On his law firm's Web site, Kania states:
"Oklahoma statutes specifically provides that a person may lawfully shoot a dog that is chasing livestock on his property. ... Despite the overwhelming evidence that the shooting of these two dogs was lawful, the Muskogee County District Attorney continues to use their limited resources on prosecuting this case."
At least one member of the eight-woman, four-man jury appeared to agree.
"I think this poor man is out a lot of money," juror Sandra Checotah said about Yang after the verdicts were announced. "I am sorry he and his family had to go through this at all."
Wirth said prosecutors refused to negotiate a plea deal without the condition that Yang pay several thousand dollars as restitution for the loss of the dogs. Prosecutors' position never wavered despite the changing of Muskogee County's prosecutorial regime.
District Attorney Larry Moore said he and his staff believed the evidence available was sufficient to prove a crime has been committed.
"Anytime you have a jury, they get to decide the case based upon their past experiences," Moore said. "They apparently thought a crime was not committed, and we respect their decision."
Evidence presented during the three-day trial showed Yang, a Laotian immigrant who owns an egg- and cattle-production operation in southeastern Muskogee County, indicated Yang had experienced problems with dogs harming his livestock prior to the shooting.
On the night of March 25, 2006, four men set loose a pack of at least 12 hunting dogs that were allowed to roam the landscape. At least two of the dogs crossed Yang's property, which was fenced and posted, and threatened Yang's livestock.
Yang's wife, Betty Yang, accepted blame for the dogs' deaths during her sometimes tearful testimony Thursday morning.
"It's my fault," Yang sobbingly said while testifying about the events of March 25, 2006. "I was scared. I told him to do this."
Yang said the family had experienced problems with dogs chasing or killing livestock in the past. The night of the shooting, she said, there were more dogs on the Yang property than ever before.
"The law is clear that hunting dogs can enter onto property during a hunt as long as they don't aggravate livestock, harm or damage property," Moore said. | Source: Muskogee Phoenix - July 27, 2007
Update posted on Jul 27, 2007 - 11:43AM |
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