QueenScoopalot
09-27-2005, 08:50 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA092005.NoBill.EN.778a2464.html
Grand jury: No charges in Jourdanton dog drowning case
John MacCormack
Express-News Staff Writer
Three Jourdanton city employees who in July drowned five dogs at the city sewer treatment plant as a means of euthanasia will not face criminal charges.
“The cruelty to animals charges were no-billed,” said Atascosa County District Clerk Jerome Brite early Tuesday. The three, public works supervisor Chantan Morin and workers Paul Lozano and Edward Cruz could have been charged with cruelty to animals, a felony, but an Atascosas County grand jury returned a no-bill late Monday after hearing the evidence.
The July 11 incident created a furor among dog lovers nationwide who tracked the explosive story on various websites. For much of the summer, Jourdanton was besieged with hate calls, letters and e-mails. At one point, threats prompted police to guard city hall.
City Manager Dan Nick, who said he was threatened with explicit harm by one caller, is not certain it is over. “It’s still an emotional issue. I’m just going to have to wait and see if people are dissatisfied with the decision,” he said of the grand jury action.
“A lady from Floresville called me and told me that if (the workers) were let off, it’s just the beginning. They’ll be here picketing and whatever,” he said.
Other groups had threatened civil legal action if criminal charges were not filed.
Nick said he did not learn of the July 11 incident until he returned from vacation a few days later.
He said hoped the matter would be quietly resolved in July when he gave Chantan a “severe reprimand.”
“When I heard what happened, I felt it could be very explosive,” he recalled.
“As far as it being a city matter, I dealt with it in July. The legal system has now done what it is going to do, so now it’s up to the public to let it go,” he said.
In a Monday night city council meeting, Police Chief Ronnie Lawson, who spent two months investigating the incident, reported that during the mid 1990s, it was common practice in Journdanton to kill stray dogs by shooting or drowning.
He estimated as many as 250 dogs were dispatched this way between 1994 and 1997, but said it has only happened once since, in July.
Nick said he was not aware of this practice when he was hired as city manager in 1998, and since then has regularly budgeted money to euthanize stray dogs by legal means. By law, strays can only be killed by gassing them with carbon monoxide or injecting them with sodium pentobarbital at an animal shelter.
And while he is hopeful that Jourdanton’s dog-killer image will fade away, he said it won’t occur overnight. “It’s more complicated with the prior history. I think it will take a long time,” he said.
Grand jury: No charges in Jourdanton dog drowning case
John MacCormack
Express-News Staff Writer
Three Jourdanton city employees who in July drowned five dogs at the city sewer treatment plant as a means of euthanasia will not face criminal charges.
“The cruelty to animals charges were no-billed,” said Atascosa County District Clerk Jerome Brite early Tuesday. The three, public works supervisor Chantan Morin and workers Paul Lozano and Edward Cruz could have been charged with cruelty to animals, a felony, but an Atascosas County grand jury returned a no-bill late Monday after hearing the evidence.
The July 11 incident created a furor among dog lovers nationwide who tracked the explosive story on various websites. For much of the summer, Jourdanton was besieged with hate calls, letters and e-mails. At one point, threats prompted police to guard city hall.
City Manager Dan Nick, who said he was threatened with explicit harm by one caller, is not certain it is over. “It’s still an emotional issue. I’m just going to have to wait and see if people are dissatisfied with the decision,” he said of the grand jury action.
“A lady from Floresville called me and told me that if (the workers) were let off, it’s just the beginning. They’ll be here picketing and whatever,” he said.
Other groups had threatened civil legal action if criminal charges were not filed.
Nick said he did not learn of the July 11 incident until he returned from vacation a few days later.
He said hoped the matter would be quietly resolved in July when he gave Chantan a “severe reprimand.”
“When I heard what happened, I felt it could be very explosive,” he recalled.
“As far as it being a city matter, I dealt with it in July. The legal system has now done what it is going to do, so now it’s up to the public to let it go,” he said.
In a Monday night city council meeting, Police Chief Ronnie Lawson, who spent two months investigating the incident, reported that during the mid 1990s, it was common practice in Journdanton to kill stray dogs by shooting or drowning.
He estimated as many as 250 dogs were dispatched this way between 1994 and 1997, but said it has only happened once since, in July.
Nick said he was not aware of this practice when he was hired as city manager in 1998, and since then has regularly budgeted money to euthanize stray dogs by legal means. By law, strays can only be killed by gassing them with carbon monoxide or injecting them with sodium pentobarbital at an animal shelter.
And while he is hopeful that Jourdanton’s dog-killer image will fade away, he said it won’t occur overnight. “It’s more complicated with the prior history. I think it will take a long time,” he said.