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By Levi Hill/Sun-News Bureau Chief
Article Launched: 07/12/2008 01:00:00 AM MDT
SILVER CITY — In August 2007, one of the most extreme cases of animal abuse to hit Grant County came to light with the discovery of "Trinity," a female boxer found along Ridge Road who had been so abused that amputation of a leg was needed.
Today, the person or persons suspected of the crime remain uncharged and Crime Stoppers and Animal Protection of New Mexico Inc., are offering a reward up to $2,500 for information in the case.
When Trinity was found on Aug. 22 by Mary Billings, the dog was suffering dehydration, malnutrition, a pellet gun wound to the head and a hind leg had been wrapped in wire so long that most of the leg had died and more than two inches of bone was exposed beneath the rotted black flesh.
Billings whisked the dog to Grant County's High Desert Humane Society and while practice would normally have been to put the animal down, the staff refused to let her die.
"She had so much spirit and she was so determined that we couldn't let her die," said shelter director Jeff Young.
The staff sent the animal to a local veterinarian and, after hours of surgery to remove the damaged leg and retrieve the copper plated BB-gun pellet from the dog's head, Trinity pulled through.
Today she has a new life with a loving family, but the appalling nature of her abuse so disturbed those who saw the animal that nearly a year later they have refused to let the case die, either.
"My problem is the way it was left," Young said. "The guy got a little bit of harassment and maybe missed some sleep, but nothing else. This is one of the worst cases we have ever seen and we feel it should not go unpunished."
The sentiment is echoed by Sandra Suhr, director of the Grant County Crime Stoppers, who, upon learning recently that no charges were pending in the case, decided to offer a reward of $1,000 to $2,000 if the witness testifies in court — in hopes of seeing justice.
"Many people in the community are concerned that nothing has happened with the horrible abuse this animal suffered. The public is outraged and something has to be done," she said.
Suhr contacted Animal Protection of New Mexico Inc., and the animal rights agency is now working to broadcast Trinity's case on state television news channels and has beefed up the reward another $500 on both ends to $1,500 for information and $2,500 for testifying.
"It is appalling that something like this would go so long and no closure has been found," said Monica Garcia, spokeswoman for APNM. "We are going to put together our own release on this and send it to local television stations and major networks. We are going to put it out there on a broad scale to reach people who may know what happened so this can be prosecuted. Nobody should get away with this sort of thing."
Garcia said the news release could be hitting area news stations as early as Friday and the hope is that several will pick up the story and run with it.
While no charges have ever been filed in the case, there is a suspect. According to police reports from the Grant County Sheriff's Department, the dog was identified by the ex-wife of the owner, her mother and an area resident.
The suspect, whose name is withheld because he has not been charged, told police he was "90 percent sure" it was his dog "Precious," during investigations into the abuse, according to the reports.
The report paints a grim picture of the dog being injured in a leap from a moving vehicle and then being taken to an area veterinarian for a broken hind leg. However, the cost to save the animal was high and the owner refused to pay for the operation.
According to what the man's ex-wife told investigators, the man said he bought a euthanizing kit from the veterinarian to put the animal down and then buried it in the woods.
In later investigations, the man told police he bought the euthanizing kit from a local feed and livestock supply shop and put the animal down, after it became aggressive after several days of treatment for its injuries. He later changed his story when informed no such euthanizing kit could be bought locally and said he took the dog to the woods, cut its throat and buried it.
Following multiple accounts of the animal's death, the suspect invoked his right to counsel and then came back at a later time and told police the animal had escaped and become lost some nine days before it was found by Billings. He told police he was unaware of how it suffered its injuries.
Mike Burns, an investigator in the case, said he has been unable to conclusively tie the suspect to the animal's abuse. And without a witness or evidence, no charges can be filed.
"At this point we don't have any conclusive evidence or information to be able to charge anybody with anything in that animal," he said. "I have no conclusive evidence to link the person who was identified as the responsible party to the dog's abuse."
Burns said there is evidence that the suspect was in possession of a pellet gun at one time, but said he cannot prove the dog's injury came from that rifle.
Deputy District Attorney Quinn Martin, who had been assigned to the case, said that while it is suspicious the suspect lied to police repeatedly, there is not enough evidence to connect him with the abuse crime.
"I have a lot of physical evidence, but I have got to have someone to link him to that animal during the abuse," Burns said. "An eye witness would certainly allow us to pursue some type of criminal action."
Anyone with information regarding the abuse of Trinity is asked to call the Crimestoppers Hotline at (575) 538-5254. This line cannot be traced, taped and has no Caller ID. Callers may remain anonymous.
Grant County Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of $1,000 to anyone who knows anything about the condition or treatment of the dog during the first three weeks of August 2007 or has witnessed any maltreatment of the dog. This information must be sufficient for the district attorney to file charges and the amount will be doubled to $2,000 if the informant is willing to testify in court.
Donations to Crime Stopper rewards may be made by mailing a check to Grant County Crime Stoppers, PO Box 1685, Silver City, New Mexico 88062. Crime Stoppers is a 50l(c)3, nonprofit organization that receives no tax money and all officers and board members serve with no salary as volunteers.
Levi Hill can be reached at lhill@scsun-news.com
You can help
• If you have information about this crime, call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (575) 538-5254. |
