A suspected drug dealer is being held in the Will County Adult Detention facility in lieu of $300,000 bail.
Edward Gutierrez, 43, of the 2100 block of Siegel Drive in Crest Hill is scheduled to appear in Will County court Nov. 10 on a charge of manufacture/delivery of more than 15 grams of cocaine.
The charge is a Class X felony that carries a mandatory sentencing range of six to 30 years upon conviction.
Joliet Police arrested Gutierrez on Oct. 19 at his home, where they also reportedly seized 82 grams of cocaine packaged in 13 bags, a digital scale and $1,029 in cash.
Joliet Deputy Police Chief Trafton said Gutierrez and his wife cooperated with the arrest, but police “neutralized a pit bull” in the home that was preparing to attack them.
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Police: Suspected drug dealer had 82 grams of packaged cocaine in home
By Dennis Sullivan, From Chicago Tribune
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Port to put teeth in dog law amid pit bull uproar
By Kristyn Halbig Ziehm, Ozaukee Press
But revised ordinance will not target breeds as some animal owners feared
Port Washington officials said Tuesday they will work to strengthen the city’s existing vicious dog ordinance, but do not intend to regulate specific breeds of dogs.
Several aldermen said they have been inundated by e-mails and letters from throughout the nation after city resident Dan O’Connor said he planned to petition the council to impose strict regulations on pit bulls.
“I got bombarded,” Ald. Mike Ehrlich said, estimating he got as many as 20 e-mails, as well as several letters on the subject. Virtually all the writers opposed breed-specific legislation, he said.
Ald. Paul Neumyer concurred, noting many of the missives pointed out problems that have been experienced by communities throughout the nation that have enacted breed-specific laws.
“We haven’t even scheduled anything on this,” he said.
While both aldermen said they understand O’Connor’s concerns about pit bulls, they said breed-specific laws are difficult to enforce.
“I think it’s just opening up a nightmare,” Ehrlich said. “Rather than the dog, I think a lot of it has to do with the owner.”
Neumyer said the city already has an ordinance dealing with vicious dogs — albeit one that needs strengthening.
“We can tweak the ordinance on vicious dogs to make it work,” he said. “I understand his (O’Connor’s) concern, but we already have an ordinance that deals with vicious dogs.”
City Atty. Eric Eberhardt said he hopes to meet with Police Chief Richard Thomas later this week to discuss revisions to the vicious dog ordinance.
The need for the ordinance to be revised was pointed out by O’Connor, who was in his yard with his two young sons last month when a pit bull wandered in. After O’Connor told his sons to run into the house, the dog chased one of the boys, then turned to chase the other.
O’Connor and his other son got into the house and the dog left the yard. However, it entered a neighbor’s yard and bit the neighbor in the hand, according to police.
The incident prompted O’Connor to announce plans to petition aldermen to enact regulations on pit bulls.
“To me, it’s so blatantly obvious something needs to be done,” he said at the time. “Under Port Washington’s ordinance, all dogs are the same. But different breeds of dogs are different. It’s important not to overlook a dog’s nature.
“A pit bull is not a wiener dog.”
The city’s ordinance on vicious dogs states that no one may keep a vicious dog in the city, and defines this type of animal as a dog that may suddenly assault a person or his property while he is walking or riding on the public streets or on the premises of the dog’s owner.
“That’s certainly lacking,” City Administrator Mark Grams said, since dogs that attack other animals or people in their yards are not covered by the ordinance.
However, he said, he does not believe the council will look at breed-specific legislation.
“I don’t think they want to go there,” Grams said.
Friday, 5 November 2010
Property dispute involves gunshots, run for office
By Dan Nienabor, Mankato Free Press
Dispute lingers in court system
A woman hoping to fill a seat on the Mankato Township Board has been in a property dispute with a neighbor that has lingered in court for months and escalated, more than once, to the point of gunfire.
At first glance, the scenic acreage south of Mankato where Caroline Wood and John Enger live seems like the type of place that would naturally encourage peace and harmony. Both of their houses are tucked into a hillside along the west side of Highway 66. Directly across the highway, people can be seen enjoying the Red Jacket Trail as they walk, jog and bike along the popular path. Mount Kato and the bluffs behind Indian Lake provide a colorful backdrop for that scene.
Enger and his wife, Danette, built their house about 30 years ago. Wood and her husband, Russell, moved into their house in 2008. The initial source of their many disagreements is a 40-foot easement, set aside in the middle 1990s when Highway 66 was improved, that provides a driveway to the Engers’ house.
The easement travels parallel to the highway across the Woods’ front yard. The Engers’ original driveway was removed when the highway was changed because sight lines made it hard to see for passing motorists.
Wood has also reported problems with the Engers’ dogs, including one that lost one of its front legs in July after it was shot in the chest by Wood. She has already spent about $20,000 in attorneys fees alone for the property dispute, which
hasn’t gotten her very far in court.
Enger said he’s concerned Wood is hoping to replace Howard Drummer Jr. on the Township Board so she can bring her dispute to a different forum.
“I’d be real concerned — for anyone living in this township — if she becomes our supervisor,” he said. “The rules tend to be pretty lax here. She complains about everything and has done everything she can do to make me afraid to enjoy my property. I’m afraid that’s what she’d turn this township into. That’s what she’s tried to do to me.”
According to a harassment claim filed by Wood, she received a medical discharge from the Air Force due to post traumatic stress and other health issues. She said she moved to Mankato because her husband, who grew up in the area, is still on active duty. He will be returning from Iraq next week and retiring soon, Wood said in an e-mail Wednesday.
She said she’s a qualified township board candidate because of her experience as an Air Force air traffic controller. Wood, 34, also has served as the manager of the Mankato Farmer’s Market this year.
“I believe in integrity, service before self and excellence in all I do,” Wood said in the e-mail. “My lack of direct civilian supervisor experience may cause hesitation, but I hope my prior military experience, positive energy, fresh perspective, and love of Mankato will lead to some support.”
Deputies have been called to the Wood and Enger residences “numerous times” since the property dispute started about two years ago, said Capt. Rich Murry of the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Department. Reasons for the calls have included complaints about the use of the driveway, fences that have been built too close to the easement and gunshots. Reports from the dog shooting in July have been turned over to the county attorney’s office and could result in criminal charges.
It is illegal to shoot a stray dog on your property unless you are in fear for your safety or it is chasing wildlife such as deer, Murry said. He also said there had not been a problem at the two houses, or Enger’s house alone, before Wood moved in.
Enger said Brownie, his Thai ridge back (or Asian black lab) dog, was lured on to the Woods’ property before it was shot by Caroline Wood. Enger also said another dog that was living with him temporarily “fainted dead away” after both Wood and her husband fired numerous rifle shots near that dog during an earlier incident.
Here is how Wood describes what happened in July in a 92-paragraph affidavit she filed in September accusing Enger of contempt of court:
“On July 9, 2010, I saw the Enger’s pit bull dog enter our property when it was unsupervised and unrestrained. I waited to see if the dog would return home. Instead it proceeded into our yard.
“I therefore went outside with a 9mm handgun I had acquired because of a recommendation from law enforcement and my first attorney. I pointed the gun into the hillside one handed to fire a shot to scare the dog into going back home. At that moment the dog began to run and noticed me, at which point it charged toward me.
“I then took a two handed grip and fired the gun one time. I believe I hit the dog. The dog then returned home and I went inside to call law enforcement. I did not fire out of anything but fear. Once the dog was not a threat, I immediately went into the house.”
In the same affidavit, Wood claims Enger owes her more than $31,000 for what she has spent to protect herself since becoming his neighbor. That figure includes the attorney fees, the cost of audio and video surveillance equipment and more than $1,000 she paid to a private investigation firm to sweep her house for electronic bugging devices she suspected had been placed inside her house by Enger.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Puppy stolen during Superior Township burglary
By Lee Higgins, AnnArbor.com
A 9-week-old pit bull puppy was stolen during a burglary Thursday afternoon in the 8000 block of Nottingham Drive in Superior Township, a Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department media summary said.
Someone opened a garage door and took the puppy between noon and 4:30 p.m., the summary said.
Deputies do not have any suspects.
Sheriff's department spokesman Derrick Jackson could not immediately be reached for comment this afternoon.
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Redding Man Biten By Dogs
From KRCR
On Thursday afternoon, a man was attacked by two pit bull mixes, while he was walking his dog in his wheelchair.
According to the Haven Humane Society, Charles Osborn, 57-years-old, was attacked by the two dogs on the 1800 block of Roanoak Avenue in Redding, where he lives.
Ruddy Chacon, Osborn's neighbor, said that he heard Osborn scream and when he ran over he saw the dogs attacking him.
"And he was over in the gutter and he was in real pain, but when two or three dogs are fighting, you can't go over there to save them because the dogs could bite you," said Chacon.
Haven Humane said the two dogs got loose from a nearby apartment, and bit Osborn multiple times.
Officials also said that they have had prior contact with these particular dogs.
The dogs will be held at Haven Humane for the next ten days, and their fate could either be a dangerous dog hearing, being relocated, or possibly being put down.
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Startling discovery in Halifax
By Roger Bell, Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald
Human remains under investigation
When Ivette Coulombe moved to Halifax from New York City nearly two years ago, she never believed one day she would discover skeletal human remains on her property. However, Friday around 9 a.m., Coulombe, near her home on Montford Street in Halifax, was taking her dog, a Weimaraner-Shar-Pei mix, out for her morning walk in her backyard when they passed under her clothesline.
“I ducked up under the clothesline and that’s when I saw the bone.”
Coulombe, who was a dance major at Lehman University in New York and studied anatomy and physiology, recognized the bone as a human thigh bone. A few steps later, she discovered a leg bone and what appeared to be a jaw with teeth attached.
“It creeped me out a little bit,” Coulombe said.
For some time, she said she could only stand and stare. “You know when you’re half-believing, half-not believing it?” Coulombe said. “That’s how it was at first.”
After a time, Coulombe realized what was happening.
“I started to think, this is a person,” she said.
Coulombe contacted her neighbor Raye Burnell, who was outside the house next door at the time, and directed her to the find. “When I saw it I thought it was a deer,” Burnell said. “I still believe it was a deer.”
Coulombe had her husband call the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office to report the find. As they waited, Coulombe and Burnell began to believe Burnell’s dog, a pit bull which had gotten loose the night before, had found the remains in nearby woods and brought them to the yard.
Coulombe was still in a bit of shock Friday afternoon. “It’s not real,” she said. “I really can’t explain it. I expected to maybe one day see a skeleton in a classroom setting, but not in the woods.”
Capt. Jay Burch, of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed officials were investigating skeletal human remains near Montford Street. The State Bureau of Investigation Forensic Team had also responded, but no identification of the remains has been made.
Monday, 1 November 2010
STL County launches new animal help line
From St. Louis Globe-Democrat
“Heffie’s Help Line” a free resource for area pet owners and pet advocates, was launched Wednesday by Saint Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley and Health Department Director Dr. Dolores J. Gunn.
“Anyone who calls 314-615-1777 can report cases of animal abuse that will be investigated within 48 hours,” Dooley said.
“You don’t have to identify yourself to get help for any animal that may be tethered in violation of county ordinances or suffering other forms of abuse,” Dooley said.
Callers can also get information on low cost spay/neuter programs including the Saint Louis County Animal Care and Control Voucher program as well as many other animal welfare related resources. The help line is available on a 24/7 basis.
The new service is part of an expansion of Animal Care and Control Services that includes opening a new facility next summer. The facility will double the county’s space for cats and dogs and will provide additional space for vector control offices.
“The new animal care and adoption center will be a state-of-the-art facility and will offer the best possible treatment for the animals in our care,” Dooley said.
The help line is in partnership with several animal welfare organizations, including the Animal Protective Association (APA); The Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO); Operation Stop Pet Over Population Today (SPOT); Dogs Deserve Better, Benefitting Animals Through Responsibility and Compassion (BARC) and Metro Animal.
“Collaboration with other animal welfare ambassadors will be the key to the help line’s success as it allows us to reach out to more residents and offer more assistance,” Dr. Gunn said.
Other recorded information that can be accessed through the help line includes: pet adoption, lost and found, animal ordinances, and volunteering. Information will be mailed to those who do not have computer access.
The help line is named in honor of Heffie, a two-year-old pit bull who spent most of his life tied to a chain in an outside enclosure in violation of local tethering laws. The help line will allow citizens to report illegal tethering and abuse anonymously so that dogs like Heffie have a better chance at a safe environment. Heffie was rescued earlier this year but later died of natural causes.
More information can be found at www.stlouisco.com/doh/animals/animals.html.
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