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Thursday, May 15, 2008

Pet Abuse Yields Fine, Possible Jail Time

By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
      Richard Trujillo, 40, owes $2,022, and may face time in jail, because of how he treated a pigeon, a rabbit, three chickens, four cats, a dog and a goat.
       The animals were not able to access food, shelter or water for at least four days, and the goat, described as a tricolor pygmy, died as a result of the negligence, according to a criminal complaint from December signed by Edgewood Animal Control officer Vicky Murphy.
       The animals were taken from Trujillo's residence on Range Road, about a mile east of N.M. 344 and just north of the freeway. Murphy said it's a step she tries to avoid, when possible.
       “We had worked quite extensively with Mr. Trujillo,” Murphy said. “We really don't want to take people's animals in general.”
       Murphy first dealt with Trujillo about three years ago, she said, and had supplied him with dog food and shelters for his animals, as well as informing him of the proper way to restrain the animals so they could access their food and shelter.
       “All those efforts helped a little,” she said. “There was progress each time on different issues until the last two times.”
       Before the 2007 complaint, Murphy issued a criminal complaint against Trujillo in November 2006. It says he failed to supply adequate food, water and shelter to three other animals: a pit bull, a German shepherd and a Chihuahua. Those animals were taken from Trujillo, and he was ordered to pay $274 in fees and court costs.
       According to Edgewood's court clerk, Kathy Smith, Trujillo only recently paid that debt off.
       In the most recent case, the Edgewood Municipal Court granted Trujillo, who was represented by a public defender, a plea bargain. He was charged $2,022 in court costs and the cost of animal care including veterinary bills. The Estancia Valley Regional Animal Shelter's portion of the bill alone was $1,770, according to Smith.
       Edgewood Municipal Judge Bill White said he struggled with the decision to accept the plea bargain because it didn't allow for jail time for Trujillo.
       “I want to make life better for the animals in town,” White said. “This guy was a bad pet owner. That's not going to be tolerated by the animal control officers or the courts here in this town.”
       Trujillo is currently living in Colorado. He still faces two counts of animal cruelty in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court, according to Murphy. Those charges could not handled by the Edgewood court because the charges go beyond petty misdemeanors, White said.
   

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