Four baby raccoons beaten to death
Downey, CA (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, May 21, 2002
County: Los Angeles
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: John Robert Brady
A 55-year-old man was convicted Friday of three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty for beating four baby raccoons to death in his attic with a stick and golf club.
John Robert Brady was found guilty for killing the tiny raccoons whose skulls were so badly crushed that veterinarians found bone sticking through their fur, officials said.
"This has got to be one of the most horrific cases I've seen in a long time,' said Capt. Aaron Reyes of the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority. "They were babies and posed no threat to anyone.'
A sentencing date has not been set, but Brady was acquitted on a fourth count of maliciously and intentionally killing a baby raccoon.
On the evening of May 21, 2002, Brady investigated shuffling noises coming from his attic and was confronted by a large raccoon the evening of May 21. He watched the raccoon escape through a hole in the roofline and then promptly boarded the hole up.
Brady was unaware that six baby raccoons had been trapped inside the attic, prompting the adult raccoon, the mother, to scratch at Brady's front door and apparently dislodge his mailbox in an effort to gain entry into the attic, Deputy District Attorney Kristiana Dietzel said.
When Brady returned to his attic, he saw the young animals and called animal control. They advised him to set traps, Dietzel said.
Brady placed traps in his attic, checked on them a few days later and found them empty. When Brady grabbed one of the raccoons by the neck, it hissed and scratched at him, prompting him to begin striking the raccoons first with a stick and when that broke with a golf club, according to court testimony.
SEAACA officials called to the home the next day were handed three dead baby raccoons and one live raccoon suffering from a crushed skull. A veterinarian promptly put the injured animal to sleep.
Two uninjured animals were also taken away for safekeeping. Prosecutors said Brady used "cruel and inhumane' tactics in his efforts to rid his home of the animals. References |
