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Case ID: 9593
Classification: Other
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CONVICTED: Was justice served?

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Case #9593 Rating: 2.0 out of 5



Wednesday, Mar 31, 2004

County: Los Angeles

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Alexia Tiraki-Kyrklund

In 2004, Kyrklund rented a property in Signal Hill near Cherry Street and Willow Avenue that had a large lot with two bungalows.

It had once been the site of a trucking yard and one of the small houses, built in the 1920s, was converted to an office while the other served as a home for the business's owner, said Gary Jones, community development director for the city of Signal Hill.

Kyrklund tried to make changes, including asking if she could have an animal daycare or pet hotel. None of those uses were allowed under the city's zoning, Jones said.

"It was called 50 different things, but none of it was legal," he said. "We had actually a very uneasy feeling about her right away, and started documenting and sending her letters to let her know it was not a permitted use."

Eventually, the city - working with Long Beach Animal Control - went to court. Kyrklund was charged with four misdemeanors: failure to care for animals; confining animals with inadequate space; importing wild animals; and a zoning violation.

The wild animal charge applied to the possession of ferrets, illegal in California, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

"She just ignored our notices and then constructed a big chain-link fence around the entire property and put up plastic (tarps) so no one could see in," Jones said. "The place was in such bad shape you could smell it. You could hear the dogs barking. We had barking complaints from the nearby businesses."

The case languished for more than a year, Jones said.

"I think that Alex is very shrewd," he said. "She apparently kept showing up at court and (stalling), first representing herself, then she got an attorney, then she wanted a court-appointed attorney ... people know the ins-and-outs of these types of cases, they know how to stretch things out."

Halfway through the case she removed several animals, which addressed the city's requirement that no more than four animals be kept at each home, Jones said.

In the end, Kyrklund offered to plead no contest to two of the four counts - the zoning and wild animal charge - and the judge accepted the offer despite the DA's opposition, Robison said.

On June 19, Kyrklund was sentenced to 12 days in county jail, 36 months probation and was ordered to pay restitution to the city for more than $12,000 in vet bills to treat animals seized at the Signal Hill property, court records show.

"The $12,500 in restitution was for emergency surgeries and treatment of 29 cats and three dogs," that were seized by Animal Control, Robison said.

The DA's office is appealing that judge's decision, Robison said. The prosecutor had argued for all four counts because it would have prevented Kyrklund from being able to operate any animal shelters while on probation.

References

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