Published: June 24, 2009 11:20 am      

State animal laws to get tougher

Clark man accused of shooting neighbor’s dog

One week from today, several new statutes will go into effect in Indiana. None may be more eagerly anticipated than House Bill 1468, commonly known as the “puppy mill law.”

Animal lovers argue that the state has not done enough in the past to punish people who intentionally abuse or injure domestic animals. In a little more than a month, at least two dogs have been shot in Clark County.

A Bethlehem man shot a border collie mix that was on his property along the 1200 block of Camp Creek Road on May 17, according to a probable-cause affidavit. Rocky Williams II was charged with criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor in the incident.

“The dog attempted to bite me. I’d hate for it to try to bite one of my kids,” he told The Evening News.

Williams said he feels terrible about what happened — admitting he shot the dog — but believes he is the victim of a “political witch hunt.”

Williams, who had his first court pretrial conference Tuesday, was required to post a $10,000 cash-only bond to be released. He said he did nothing wrong and has no intentions of pleading guilty. His attorney, Drew Adams, had no comment.

Others who live in the area paint a different picture of what happened to the dog.

Albert Miles noticed his dog missing Sunday. The next day, he found it wrapped in a plastic tarp and left in a field, according to court records.

He recognized tire tracks next to the dog as belonging to a small Jeep, and believed he knew the vehicle’s owner. Miles confronted the man who, according to police records, admitted to dumping the dog after Williams shot it. The man said Williams shot the dog three times with a .30-.30 caliber rifle because it was chewing on some cardboard, Miles reportedly told police.

When confronted by police, Williams said he accidentally hit the dog with his car, the affidavit states. He said it was so badly injured he decided to put it out of its misery.

Trish Roehm, a neighbor and volunteer with Southern Indiana Animal Rescue, said Williams shot the dog’s mouth off for no reason. She said that when it took off running, he shot it twice more.

“The dog was absolutely not doing anything,” she said.

Miles was contacted, but said he did not want to “stir up trouble” with his neighbor and declined to comment.

Roehm believes Williams would face a more serious punishment had the incident happened after July 1.

“If it would have happened in July, he would have been charged with a felony,” she said.

The new statute increases the penalty for the intentional killing of a domestic animal.

Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart said he does not believe the new law will impact who is charged with animal cruelty offenses, but says it will increase their leverage once charges are filed.

Stewart noted that the statute includes exceptions if the “killed animal was a pest or endangering another animal or destroying or damaging a person’s property.”

While saying he is not familiar with the Williams case, he said loose dogs can create problems.

“In the country, outside of cities, dogs roaming at large create a serious safety threat,” Stewart said.

There was another dog shooting on the 3200 block of Hebron Church Road in Henryville on Sunday.

According to witnesses, Richard Davis, 45, admitted shooting a black Labrador retriever that reportedly ran onto his property. According to a police report, he told a neighbor that he is a deer breeder and has been having trouble with dogs coming up on his land and attacking his deer.

When the black Lab came near, he reportedly shot it. The owner of the dog reportedly asked Davis how he could shoot a dog, and he said “I just did it” and showed no remorse, a police report states.

Davis has not yet been charged, but police said they would send a report to the prosecutor’s office. A woman who answered Davis’ phone said he would not comment.

Roehm said the prosecutor’s office has told animal advocates many times that there is nothing that they can do with animal abuse cases because of the way the laws are written.

“It has been extremely frustrating,” she said. “We have often fought with the prosecutor’s office.”

Stewart did not deny that some people have wanted harsher penalties in animal abuse cases.

“Every time you’re dealing with a dead pet, the emotions are pretty high on either side,” he said.

Maj. Chuck Adams with the Clark County Sheriff’s Department said his agency asks that people call police if there is a stray dog on their property, rather than taking matters into their own hands.

“I recommend they call us, and we can dispatch the Clark County animal control officer,” Adams said. “ He has the means to either trap or tranquilize the dog. He’s trained for domestic animals.”

The new law could make it a felony in some cases to kill an animal without the owner’s consent, and Roehm hopes that will be enough to prevent these types of situations.

“I just think people need to be aware that animal cruelty isn’t going to be acceptable in Indiana,” she said.