12-18-03
JUSTICE FOR SHADOW
The results of the Criminal Court Case against SHADOW’S Killer
The State vs Lewis Dustin
With little to no sleep, our 6am flight took off for our journey
to Burlington, VT. With commuter flights, snow, cold and rental car,
we finally arrived in the town of Montpelier for our day of
heartbreaking testimony. A brief account of our Justice for SHADOW:
The Judge Patricia Zimmerman viewed the crime of animal-cruelty
misdemeanor seriously. She listened to Dustin's attorney, Mr. Mike
Papowski review Dustin's life, from being an orphan, serving in the
Korean war, a retired telephone company employee, soccer team
sponsor, caretaker of his ill wife, the effect that the email, fax
and letter campaign had on him and his family and Dustin's sincere
apology facing the Scheele's in the courtroom.
Judge Zimmerman then heard from the State's Attorney, Mr. Terry
Trono. Quite honestly, we sat very confused at first while Trono
seemed to be making excuses and offering the court information that
wasn't completely accurate, even stating the wrong date for the
killing of SHADOW, to drawing a diagram for the court that depicted
the location and described the Scheele's being far away and unable
to be seen by Dustin, again implanting the thought that Mr. Dustin
only wanted to wound and scare a stray dog off and reiterate, ‘no
intent’. However, he finally came around full circle to then state
that this act was inexcusable and stated the recommended punishment
by the Scheele's, including felony charges be filed.
The chief officer also attended and described how the testing of the
gun, by the police department using a recently euthanized shelter
dog", to show "intent" was not conclusive. The weapon did penetrate
sometimes, but not all the time; showing it was impossible, with the
inaccuracy of this particular, newly owned pellet gun to show
"intent". Intent, of course, is being the difference between an
animal cruelty charge misdemeanor and a felony!
The next person to speak was Denis Scheele. He gave a compelling and
emotional account of how the killing of SHADOW has deeply affected
himself, Sarah, SHADOW's canine sibling, Lucy, and all others that
knew him. He described his military background as taking part in 3
separate military actions being Panama, the Gulf war, and also
Sereavo. Continuing to express his loyalty and compassion for his
country, fellow man and certainly his family, of which SHADOW was
his baby boy. Denis continued to speak about the importance SHADOW
had on everyone he touched, including the nursing home patients they
visited. Denis continued with passion, as he described how very
painful and devastating the taking of this life has affected his
family, as he watches Sarah, almost helplessly, try to overcome the
pain this has caused. He also stated that Mr. Dustin, should have
known, weapons such as the one used to kill SHADOW, do cause pain,
destruction and death. He asked the judge to please consider having
Mr. Dustin contribute and work on a legislative issue to change the
status of pellet guns and black powder to a 'weapon status', perhaps
being part of the law in the future. He also asked that Mr. Dustin
serve community service in a shelter, that being around so many
lives in need may help him to see how much animals and their lives
do have great significance in our world.
Sarah spoke next, and she could not contain her emotions. She read
aloud a poem she wrote for SHADOW and described the pain of living
day to day, reliving holding her precious boy as he gasped for air
and cried in pain. She also asked the court to give Mr. Dustin
community service in a shelter so he could experience the love and
appreciation the animals so freely give to those that touch their
lives. Through her tears, she continued to express her love for
SHADOW, how this tragedy has changed their lives, and how much they
miss SHADOW’s priceless gift of being their little boy.
Judge Zimmerman spoke next making sure Mr. Dustin was aware of and
understood his plea of no-contest and the sentencing she was about
to impose. She continued by stating she understood his fear of dogs,
but in this case it was unprovoked and he had a choice to NOT go
outside! She understood this being a first offense, including no
traffic violations and she understood his feeling responsible for
his wife being hospitalized again, since this incident.
She continued to state that she has read all information given to
her, including Joanne Bourbeau from the NE division of the Humane
Society, the Scheele family’s documentation of SHADOW's death and
his life, along with other information she had received with
requests for a felony crime to be imposed on Mr. Dustin. She
explained that the 'intent' was not shown in this case and
therefore, a misdemeanor animal cruelty penalty was then discussed.
Judge Zimmerman made no excuse for Mr. Dustin's actions that day,
empathizes with his personal caretaking position for his wife, but
told the court that this crime was unacceptable and continued with
the sentencing:
- 11mos to 1yr jail suspended
- 1 yr of counseling
- 1yr of community service with minimum
10hrs a week, recommended for the Humane Society in Barre, VT if
allowed by the Humane Society. If the Humane Society does not
deem this appropriate then he must serve in another capacity
suggested by the probation officer.
- 1 yr of not being allowed to have
pellet gun in his possession
- 1yr of not being allowed to have a dog
in his home
- A dollar amount for restitution,
includes only monies spent by the Scheele's for SHADOW's
emergency visit that day, his burial costs, and phone calls and
travel to Vermont for this court date.
Judge Zimmerman, in our opinion, took this case seriously,
realized the affect that this tragedy had on an innocent little dog,
the family and community. The court hearing was long and painful,
but the Judge listened and made note of having reviewed all
information sent to her. We feel that this will also help the
cruelty cases in the future. The local cable channel was also
present, which was a surprise to all, since they have not
participated in a long time in the court. A thousands voices spoke
up on SHADOW's behalf and they were heard in Vermont! Thanks from
the bottom of our broken hearts to everyone for your efforts!
The Scheele Family will continue to pursue this case legally in
Civil Court with the hopes of creating "The SHADOW Law" in the town
where SHADOW was violently killed. This law will make the discharge
of a pellet gun within city limits a felony. They face a long legal
battle ahead…but are determined to do everything possible not to
have SHADOW’s death be in vain and hopefully prevent this horror
from happening to another innocent and precious animal.
Thank you for your caring concern and continued support. We shall
update the information on SHADOW’s case regularly.
The Scheele Family and Madeline Davis
Annapolis, Maryland
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