C
Charlene
Guest
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013/06/man-found-guilty-of-animal-cruelty-for-killing-kitten-in-richardson-but-acquitted-of-assault.html/
Jurors convicted a Dallas man Friday of felony animal cruelty for
killing his girlfriends cat in a fit of rage at her Richardson apartment.
But after more than eight hours of deliberations, the same jury
acquitted Edwon Julian of assault after the woman and her two teenage
daughters said he attacked them with a stun gun that same day last summer.
Julian, 36, could face two to 20 years in prison when hes sentenced
June 27.
The verdict elicited mixed emotions from Jonnie England, longtime animal
welfare advocate and vice chair of the citys Animal Shelter Commission.
Im very pleased that the jury saw the evidence for what it was and
convicted him on the animal cruelty case, said England, who followed
the trial since it began May 29, but disappointed that they didnt find
enough evidence to convict on assault.
According to testimony, Julian and his girlfriend Rosa Dismuke got into
an argument July 31 that turned violent. At some point, her two
daughters intervened, she said, and Julian stunned one of the girls in
the head with a Taser.
He charged at me like the 49ers, Dismuke said last week. So I
proceeded to fight back and wrestled the stun gun away.
Julian then grabbed Dismukes gray kitten, named Kisses, swung her by
the tail and let go. The cat flew off the second-story balcony and hit a
drainpipe before landing on the pavement below.
Kisses died at the scene as animal control officials tried to save her.
Julian fled the apartment but was arrested shortly afterward.
He resorted to animal cruelty from his rage at Kisses owner and he
took out his revenge on the kitten, England said.
During closing arguments, one prosecutor portrayed Julian as the
cruelest person in the room, and jurors wept at the yelps of the dying
kitten on the 911 tape.
You, Mr. Julian, are a coward, prosecutor Stephanie Mitchell said.The
defendants mother, Patricia Smith, declined to comment after the
verdict but said last week that prosecutors had misrepresented Julian.
My son isnt the monster theyve portrayed him to be, Smith said.
Defense attorneys, meanwhile, portrayed Dismuke as a liar and said there
were discrepancies in her testimony.
The potential sentence for the animal cruelty charge could prove stiffer
than any punishment Julian would have faced on the assault charge
because the pavement was deemed a deadly weapon in the trial.
The sentence could range up to 20 years if the judge confirms the
pavement was a weapon and enhances the charge based on Julians time
served for an injury to a child conviction in 1996, said Debbie Denmon,
a spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorneys office.
--
wd49
Jurors convicted a Dallas man Friday of felony animal cruelty for
killing his girlfriends cat in a fit of rage at her Richardson apartment.
But after more than eight hours of deliberations, the same jury
acquitted Edwon Julian of assault after the woman and her two teenage
daughters said he attacked them with a stun gun that same day last summer.
Julian, 36, could face two to 20 years in prison when hes sentenced
June 27.
The verdict elicited mixed emotions from Jonnie England, longtime animal
welfare advocate and vice chair of the citys Animal Shelter Commission.
Im very pleased that the jury saw the evidence for what it was and
convicted him on the animal cruelty case, said England, who followed
the trial since it began May 29, but disappointed that they didnt find
enough evidence to convict on assault.
According to testimony, Julian and his girlfriend Rosa Dismuke got into
an argument July 31 that turned violent. At some point, her two
daughters intervened, she said, and Julian stunned one of the girls in
the head with a Taser.
He charged at me like the 49ers, Dismuke said last week. So I
proceeded to fight back and wrestled the stun gun away.
Julian then grabbed Dismukes gray kitten, named Kisses, swung her by
the tail and let go. The cat flew off the second-story balcony and hit a
drainpipe before landing on the pavement below.
Kisses died at the scene as animal control officials tried to save her.
Julian fled the apartment but was arrested shortly afterward.
He resorted to animal cruelty from his rage at Kisses owner and he
took out his revenge on the kitten, England said.
During closing arguments, one prosecutor portrayed Julian as the
cruelest person in the room, and jurors wept at the yelps of the dying
kitten on the 911 tape.
You, Mr. Julian, are a coward, prosecutor Stephanie Mitchell said.The
defendants mother, Patricia Smith, declined to comment after the
verdict but said last week that prosecutors had misrepresented Julian.
My son isnt the monster theyve portrayed him to be, Smith said.
Defense attorneys, meanwhile, portrayed Dismuke as a liar and said there
were discrepancies in her testimony.
The potential sentence for the animal cruelty charge could prove stiffer
than any punishment Julian would have faced on the assault charge
because the pavement was deemed a deadly weapon in the trial.
The sentence could range up to 20 years if the judge confirms the
pavement was a weapon and enhances the charge based on Julians time
served for an injury to a child conviction in 1996, said Debbie Denmon,
a spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorneys office.
--
wd49