In recent months there have been three horrific felony animal cruelty cases. In all three cases arrests have been made and all are awaiting trial.
In the first case a correction officer at Sing Sing prison is accused of crushing five kittens in a trash compactor. Sgt. Ronald Hunlock was charged with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a felony under New York state's Agriculture and Markets Law. Hunlock was searching an inmate's cell about 2:30 pm on March 11, 2001 when he found a box containing the kittens in the cell, authorities said. Cats commonly roam sprawling state prisons. Hunlock ordered the inmate to carry the box outside to a trash compactor that is emptied every day, authorities said. He is accused of putting the box into the compactor himself when the inmate refused to do so, and the activating the machine, killing the kittens.
In the second case, a 29 year old Peekskill, NY man is accused of stabbing his Pit Bull Terrier 30 times when the dog refused to leave with him after he argued with his girlfriend, an incident city police described as their worst animal abuse case in memory.
Michael F. Johnson became the first City of Peekskill man charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, a charge that is punishable by 2 years in prison under the state's Agriculture and Markets Law. The dog, a 2 year old named Ali, was recovering at Peekskill Animal Hospital after receiving 206 stitches during emergency surgery. The veterinarian said Ali lost so much blood that he is lucky to be alive. Mr. Johnson told authorities he was defending himself against an attacking dog, but police say Johnson was lashing out against a good-natured dog. The incident started when he was arguing with his girlfriend and threatened to leave with the dog, but when he called Ali, the animal stuck by the woman's side. After the dog refused the second call, it is alleged Johnson slammed the dog to the floor several times, yelling "punk!" The animal responded by biting Johnson's hands, prompting Johnson to grab a large kitchen knife.
Ali has since recovered from his wounds, and has been adopted to a new home after Mr. Johnson relinquished ownership of the dog. Mr. Johnson is awaiting trial.
In the third case, a Breeder of Japanese Akitas, Mr. Leonard Ammaturo, is accused of hanging 6 of his Akitas and then burying them on his property in Goldens Bridge, NY before moving to Colorado.
State Police Investigator, Joseph C. Becerra said the investigation began on March 17, 2001 when a former neighbor of Ammaturo's was walking her dogs on his old property and her dogs dug up one of the shallow graves. Police went to the property and found five more. With help from NYC Department of Environmental Protection, they exhumed the six carcasses. The remains were taken to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, where post-mortem examinations showed the dogs were asphyxiated. Because of the winter months the bodies were well preserved in the ground. Police contacted the authorities in Colorado, and after detectives spoke to him twice he admitted hanging the dogs. He is also charged with felony animal cruelty, and is awaiting trial.
The New York law, which animal rights advocates have hailed as one of the strongest, defines "aggravated cruelty to animals" as "conduct which (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner" it does not apply to any animal suffering caused by scientific research or by hunting, fishing and trapping. The felony, which became law in 1999, carries a penalty of up to two years in prison and a $5000 fine. This law, dubbed "Buster's Law" was named after an 18 month old tabby cat that was doused with kerosene and burned to death by a Schenectady teen-ager in 1997. That same year a study found that 70 percent of animal abusers had committed at least one other criminal offense, and almost 40 percent had committed violent crimes against people. The study was conducted by the Massachusetts SPCA and Northeastern University.
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