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Animal Cruelty?
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RIVERSIDE -- Sentencing has been postponed for a retired Los Angeles County assistant fire chief who beat his neighbor's 6-month-old puppy so severely it had to be euthanized.
Glynn Johnson, 55, was set to be sentenced Monday, however, the hearing has been postponed until April.
Johnson was found guilty Jan. 26 of felony animal cruelty and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the beating death of Karley, a six-month-old female shepherd mix owned by his neighbors, Jeff and Shelley Toole.
Johnson faces up to four years in prison.
The case has drawn wide attention, especially from animal-rights groups.
For weeks leading up to Johnson's arrest, protesters rallied in front of the district attorney's office asking that the fire chief be prosecuted.
The Tooles said they were relieved by the verdict and felt justice had finally been done. They were hopeful Johnson would get the maximum sentence allowed.
"It's very emotional. We knew all along he was guilty, but you have to convince 12 jurors of that and ... they were right and justified to come to that verdict," said Shelly Toole.
"We're just very happy that this stage is done," added her husband, Jeff Toole.
"We knew all along what Glynn was guilty of. It won't bring Karley back, but justice will be served, and our family can move forward," he told KTLA.
Jurors deliberated for just under three hours over two days before reaching their verdict.
Prosecutors say Johnson willfully and intentionally beat the dog in an unprovoked, violent outburst that was as much directed at the puppy as it was her owners. They claimed the dog's death was the culmination of a long-standing feud between neighbors.
Karley's injuries, which included multiple skull fractures, a broken jaw and smashed teeth, were so extensive that a veterinarian recommended putting her down, which the Tooles agreed to do.
Johnson's defense attorneys, however, painted a very different picture. They emphasized Johnson's 30 years in public safety as a firefighter, during which time he saved countless dogs, cats and horses. They say the retired fire chief is an upstanding citizen who was subjected to a family that let animals run wild and allowed a son to rev his loud motorcycle in the common driveway that Johnson shares with the Tooles.
During his opening statements Jan. 19, Deputy District Attorney Will Robinson said Glynn Johnson put dog feces in his neighbors' mailbox with a letter warning them to keep their dogs off his property.
The Tooles are the "neighbors from hell" who routinely take in stray animals and then don't take care of them, giving them the run of the community, defense attorneys argued. And the Tooles tried to domesticate a stray named Karley, unsuccessfully, the defense added.
Defense attorney John Sweeney said this was clearly a case of self-defense against a vicious animal that nearly severed Johnson's thumb during an attack. He said Johnson only beat the dog with his fist and with a large rock because he feared for his life.
And Sweeney said all the neighbors who saw the beating simply did not witness the dog's attack on Johnson first -- biting his legs, arms and hands and then locking its jaws on his thumb, eventually leaving it dangling by only a thread of skin.
KTLA reporter Chris Wolfe saw pictures of the stitched thumb and said it appears that only the very tip of the finger was sliced, and successfully "re-attached."
On Thursday, Johnson testified he took the dog from his neighbor, Travis Staggs, to save the man from having to walk around to the Tooles' residence in the 1700 block of Armintrout Drive.
Glynn Johnson, 55, was set to be sentenced Monday, however, the hearing has been postponed until April.
Johnson was found guilty Jan. 26 of felony animal cruelty and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the beating death of Karley, a six-month-old female shepherd mix owned by his neighbors, Jeff and Shelley Toole.
Johnson faces up to four years in prison.
The case has drawn wide attention, especially from animal-rights groups.
For weeks leading up to Johnson's arrest, protesters rallied in front of the district attorney's office asking that the fire chief be prosecuted.
The Tooles said they were relieved by the verdict and felt justice had finally been done. They were hopeful Johnson would get the maximum sentence allowed.
"It's very emotional. We knew all along he was guilty, but you have to convince 12 jurors of that and ... they were right and justified to come to that verdict," said Shelly Toole.
"We're just very happy that this stage is done," added her husband, Jeff Toole.
"We knew all along what Glynn was guilty of. It won't bring Karley back, but justice will be served, and our family can move forward," he told KTLA.
Jurors deliberated for just under three hours over two days before reaching their verdict.
Prosecutors say Johnson willfully and intentionally beat the dog in an unprovoked, violent outburst that was as much directed at the puppy as it was her owners. They claimed the dog's death was the culmination of a long-standing feud between neighbors.
Karley's injuries, which included multiple skull fractures, a broken jaw and smashed teeth, were so extensive that a veterinarian recommended putting her down, which the Tooles agreed to do.
Johnson's defense attorneys, however, painted a very different picture. They emphasized Johnson's 30 years in public safety as a firefighter, during which time he saved countless dogs, cats and horses. They say the retired fire chief is an upstanding citizen who was subjected to a family that let animals run wild and allowed a son to rev his loud motorcycle in the common driveway that Johnson shares with the Tooles.
During his opening statements Jan. 19, Deputy District Attorney Will Robinson said Glynn Johnson put dog feces in his neighbors' mailbox with a letter warning them to keep their dogs off his property.
The Tooles are the "neighbors from hell" who routinely take in stray animals and then don't take care of them, giving them the run of the community, defense attorneys argued. And the Tooles tried to domesticate a stray named Karley, unsuccessfully, the defense added.
Defense attorney John Sweeney said this was clearly a case of self-defense against a vicious animal that nearly severed Johnson's thumb during an attack. He said Johnson only beat the dog with his fist and with a large rock because he feared for his life.
And Sweeney said all the neighbors who saw the beating simply did not witness the dog's attack on Johnson first -- biting his legs, arms and hands and then locking its jaws on his thumb, eventually leaving it dangling by only a thread of skin.
KTLA reporter Chris Wolfe saw pictures of the stitched thumb and said it appears that only the very tip of the finger was sliced, and successfully "re-attached."
On Thursday, Johnson testified he took the dog from his neighbor, Travis Staggs, to save the man from having to walk around to the Tooles' residence in the 1700 block of Armintrout Drive.
Black or white you kill a dog you go to jail this thing he is not even a man should get the max let's not make this about race black or white don't do the crime if you can't serve the time Rest in Peace innocent Karley now that this monster will get his
Debbie @ 1:15 PM PDT, Mar 14, 2010
The man brutally attacked a helpless creature. Do we need to allow him to brutally attack, say a neighborhood child, before we are willing to do something about him? Yes, he deserves to be punished. And blaming it on his color is pathetic.
Rob @ 8:42 AM PST, Mar 13, 2010
Mary, you're an idiot. If you had bothered to read the story, you'd know he wasn't attacked, he beat a helpless puppy to death because he had a grudge against her owners. It's a major victory that he was convicted. I hope he gets the max sentence, & I hope he's someone's wife in prison.
Dee @ 4:43 PM PST, Mar 12, 2010
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