UPDATE: Dog dragged to death - Page 6

I would second Psycht's suggestion. Inundating the prosecutor with emails (that she does NOT have time to read) is not productive. For those that missed it, this person has been charged with a FEDERAL charge. He is facing 3 years, if convicted. From the news reports (which are rarely entirely accurate anyway), where does anyone get the idea that there is a scintilla of evidence that Romero actually stole the dog, burglarized anyone's home, or kidnapped anyone? It appears that some friend of his WAS in possession of the dog (stolen property), not that Romero stole the dog himself. ¶There is undoubtedly a great out-pouring of LOCAL sentiment and opinion. ¶Gee, I wonder if peta, HSUS and the other AR groups will focus their attention on this, and leave me and mine alone for a few months...?

Can you imagine loving and caring for a dog, having it come up missing/stolen? You hope that someone finds him and cares for himg you hope he is safe and cared for. Imagine finding out that THIS is what happened to him. I would not be able to sleep ever again and I would definitely have fantasies of meting out justice, or vengeance, to Mr. Romero.

If nothing more is said in court other than "I have received over 1000 emails requesting the max" my job is done. I can only do so much but I will do what I can. Also, all the the prosecutor had to do was reply to my email saying that she would rather I not go on this crusade for the very reasons you mention and it would have stopped with my one email. As it is, I have had no response one way or the other. Maybe she hasn't had the chance to read it. In which case she should be very surprised on Monday morning.
 

Debisue,

While I respect your right to do as you see fit, I do not think that what you believe your "crusade" will accomplish is actually what it will do.  I can honestly say that after the first few emails and letters in my case I did not read them and just threw them in a folder unread.  Nor did I mention them in my sentencing memorandum or in my sentencing argument.  Why?  Because a defendant is sentenced based on the facts of the case, his/her criminal history, and rehabilitative potential vs. protection of the community factors among other various issues.  A defendant is not sentenced based on public opinion. 

Believe me, the judge, the prosecutor, the defendant, and the defense attorney know how the public feels.  I hate to say it but many times those that feel passionately about these cases come off looking like crackpots. Mind you, not all, but many.  In my case, we had significant security and actually had to escort one "passionate" individual out of the courtroom during the sentencing.  Needless to say, their passion for the animals in this case did nothing to aid my prosecution....

Maybe the prosecutor in this case will respond to you but in all likelihood they won't have the time as this is not their only case on their desk. 

Like I said, you are all free to do as you like.  I was just trying to give you some insight as to how a prosecutor feels about such a plan

Pyscht,

As I said, I appreciate your comments and I do understand where you are coming from.  I understand that the sentence is usually meted out based on the facts of the case.  But I'm sure all of us have heard of at least one case where the judge saw fit to levy a sentence nowhere near the max for reasons known only to him/her.  Just trying to tip the scales in favor of justice.  If all our efforts fall on deaf ears, so be it.  If something like this were to happen to my dog, it would turn me into a crackpot, no doubt about it.  I doubt the perp would make it to court as I would be the one facing charges for retaliaton.  I will not be surprised (angered, but not surprised) to see this individual walk with probation simply because the jails/prisons are overcrowded.  It would be a shame to see this happen but in my heart of hearts, I doubt he will do any time.  We will all soon forget about him and the horrible death suffered by Buddy...until the sick SOB is arrested for another atrocity related to a human perhaps.  And then people will cry "Why wasn't he put away back when...?"
At least I tried to make a difference.  Here is where I shrug.

Deb

I considered before writing to the prosecutor, but I also know that if you happen to live in that jurisdiction - in this case a federal court jurisdiction - often letters or emails do make a difference. 

People get passionate about cases like this one because they know that too often perpetrators get the equivalent of a slap on the wrist. If someone drags a woman to death (and this happened in my state not too long ago) people know that prosecutors will approach the case with the intent to convict on the most serious charges possible and so there is not as much need for public outrage to assure justice.  The place to really work on assuring justice is in the appropriate legislatures, in this case Congress, where the laws are written. But I won't get into that here. 

Saddening.

The dog looks to me to be Blue Heeler, not GSD.  The article says the dog was tied along side...If it was tied to the side of the vehicle, there's no way a person could miss the fact that it was there...The dragging would not be an accident.

The man who did this will likely serve time in prison, if it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he did in fact drag the dog to its death.

I care more for my children than for my dogs, but that doesn't mean I don't love my dogs.  I love them very much.  There is no way I could even dream of hurting my dogs, and I'd be hard pressed to restrain myself if I saw someone else hurting a dog, even if it was not mine.

That said, if a person can hurt a dog in that way, it tells you something about the person.  If they can do that to a dog, what could they do to a person? 

If a person has no respect for animals, then I wonder if they can have any real respect for themselves or others.

But on that subject...I know of an old man who is dying from cancer, that has two very spoiled poodles.  He gives those dogs the very best, but couldn't give a damn less about his fellow man.  His dogs ride in his car, eat the best foods, enjoy the best medical care. but he'll drive right past a human that needs help, and only glare at them for being there...I guess being a cold, uncaring person can mean you care only about "fur-kids" and not humans, or it can be the other way around, too.

Sad world we live in.

Crys

I just read that more than a thousand people have signed a petittion on Facebook about this. The page is called "Demand Justice for Buddy". He was forced to run 3 miles up steep hills and then was dragged when he couldn't keep up. The rope was tied around his neck and he strangled to death. The park service has video of the vehicle and photographs of the road and site. Tracks in the snow make what happened there unmistakable. There is no doubt whatsoever that it was intentional.

Buddy was stolen when he was left leashed outside a business, according to press reports. The thief then gave him to the household he was taken from and killed. A resident of that house told authorities that Romero announced he was going to kill the dog around 2 am and left with the dog. He then did what he said he would do. Sad barely scratches the surface here.

Sam

I just got an email after I signed it that it was 2,677.

 "...announced he was going to kill the dog ..." 

And the people listening to his boast did nothing to stop this? Surely they knew he was capable of such a threat. Something like this is not random, they have their guilt, too. Too sickening for me to think too long on it.