Three Teenagers Charged in Dog Slaying
Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - Bangor Daily
News
By Rachel Rice, Of the NEWS Staff
PRESQUE
ISLE — Three teens who allegedly wanted to kill something “not
human” are being held at a state youth center and under house
arrest after they allegedly cut, stabbed and beat to death a dog
that they stole from the yard of a local resident.
The
three Presque Isle boys, ages 17, 17 and 16, were arrested late
last week for aggravated animal cruelty and theft. Two of the teens
were on juvenile probation from the Mountain View Juvenile Correction
Facility in Charleston for prior felony crimes.
Police
did not release information on the case until this week, and they
are not releasing the teens’ identities because of their ages.
“We
get complaints of abuse to animals, but not like this,” Police
Chief Naldo Gagnon said Tuesday. As he reviewed the case, he shook
his head and looked down at his hands. “It’s quite a horrific
crime.”
The
trio allegedly entered a back yard near the city’s bike path
late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning and took the dog
with the intent to kill it, Presque Isle Detective Wayne Selfridge
said in a press release. Selfridge was unavailable Tuesday for comment.
The
aggravated charge is because of the “depraved indifference
that the youths displayed in how they slaughtered the dog,”
Selfridge said.
The
4-year-old female mixed breed was trusting of humans and offered
no resistance, even during the ensuing assault, the detective said.
The
teens allegedly tied the dog’s head close to a fallen tree
and took turns impaling the animal.
Police
discounted local rumors that the killing was part of a ritualistic
satanic sacrifice; officials said the dog was not hanged, garroted
or otherwise mutilated.
The
executed animal was left in the bike path area across from Presque
Isle High School and Zippel Elementary School at a place where adolescents
hang out before school. Police believe the dead animal was placed
there purposely so students would see it in the morning before school.
Police added that the juveniles who committed the crimes were not
SAD 1 pupils.
The
dog’s remains were found Thursday morning by a man who was
walking his dog along the bike path. When police arrived at what
they thought was an accidental or natural death, they discovered
wounds that appeared to be human-inflicted injuries, Selfridge said.
Officials
took the dog to a local veterinarian who conducted a necropsy. The
multiple cut, stab and slicing wounds, coupled with signs of blunt
striking trauma, indicated that the death the dog suffered was criminally
inflicted, the detective said.
Officials
are not sure how long the dog suffered before it died.
Through
an investigation by Sgt. Mark Barnes, Selfridge and state animal
welfare agent Jennifer Howlett, and with additional help from Officer
Roger Ellis, officials were able to piece together the events surrounding
the dog’s death.
At
about 1:45 a.m. June 2, Presque Isle dispatch received a complaint
of a dog howling in a residential area. An officer checked the residence,
and the dog owner said she would bring her dog inside for the night.
She also told the officer that her other dog broke free from its
chain and she didn’t know where it was. She asked that if police
located her dog that they return it. Police checked the area but
did not find the dog.
At
about 2:50 a.m., in a seemingly unrelated incident, a woman called
the dispatch to report that a male had been by her residence and
she didn’t want him there. She suspected that he had been drinking
and was underage.
At
about 3:15 a.m., Officer Roger Ellis located two young men walking
near the woman’s residence. He warned them not to contact the
woman, and then, smelling an odor of alcohol on their breath, he
took them to the Police Department for a breathalyzer test.
After
the test was completed, Ellis summoned the teens for illegal possession
and consumption of alcohol by a minor. Police contacted the juvenile
intake worker, who arranged to speak with the teens the next day.
Officials set a court date for the teens for Aug. 4. The teens were
released to their fathers, but not before Ellis mentally noted that
one of the teens had a significant amount of blood on one of his
hands.
On
Thursday after police learned about the dog slaying, Ellis “put
two and two together” and the teens immediately became suspects,
Chief Gagnon said.
The
police worked in coordination with state authorities, treating the
case as if it were a human fatality. They conducted crime scene
analysis, necropsy of the dog, obtained a search warrant for clothing
and DNA and interviewed possible witnesses and the three suspects,
Selfridge said.
The
motive for the crime was cited as “wanting to kill something
not human,” the detective said.
The
two teens on juvenile probation have been ordered held for future
confinement until their court appearance. The third teen was released
to a family guardian and was placed under house arrest. Gagnon said
a juvenile intake worker will determine their court dates.
Their
theft charge is a misdemeanor; the aggravated animal cruelty is
a Class C felony. Gagnon said there is talk of charging the teens
as adults for the crimes because of their criminal histories. The
chief said the three do not have a criminal history of cruelty to
animals.
Police
are not releasing the dog owner’s identity at her request.
She told police that she and her young child considered their pet
to be a member of the family.
“They
took something precious,” she said. (Tammy's note: And yet
she STILL has another dog chained outside.)
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