Saturday April 17, 2010
BRATTLEBORO — A Vernon woman accused of killing a neighbor’s dog was found guilty of animal cruelty.
After deliberating for roughly two hours, a jury convicted 37-year-old Jackie L. Lee Thursday evening in Windham District Court after she caused the death of an animal belonging to another person without legal consent.
Her sentencing had not yet been scheduled as of Friday afternoon. The potential penalty for such a misdemeanor is $2,000 or one year in prison, or both.
According to Windham County State’s Attorney Tracy K. Shriver, the jury convicted Lee of the one count for killing the dog without justification.
“We respect the jury’s decision and appreciate their hard work,” she said.
The case stems from an incident on May 21, 2009 when the neighbor’s dog, Isis, was chasing Lee’s cat on their property. In her initial statement, Lee said she retrieved her .22 caliber single-shot rifle and shot the animal three times before calling police to the scene.
Statements obtained from police found Lee told the dog’s owner not to move the animal until officers arrived and shouted at them to leave the property in the meantime.
Lee alleged that the dog had a history of tormenting her cats, horse and daughter. She also reported in the affidavit that she contacted the Vernon Police Department multiple times regarding the dog before taking matters into her hands.
But Shriver pointed out in Lee’s statement, she mentioned the dog was chasing cats, but later contended Isis was also coming at her during the incident.
“She had claimed the dog was chasing a cat, and claimed at trial the dog was charging her and chasing the cat,” said Shriver. “She claimed at trial it had chased and killed other cats.”
Other neighbors living nearby testified to the behavior of the dog.
Lee’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
Source: Brattleboro Reformer
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