Indianola Municipal Court Judge Valerie L. Dorsey has dismissed all charges against a homeowner who had been cited after a vicious dog biting incident back in March.
Dorsey cited “insufficient charging documents” in her verdict clearing Laderean White of Dog Bite, Illegal Dog in City Limits and Dog Offense charges.
City Prosecutor Jennifer Adams-Williams prosecuted the case for the city.
It has taken nearly a month for Dorsey to render a verdict in the case.
In Dorsey’s order of dismissal, which was obtained by The Enterprise-Tocsin this week, she noted, “While no charging documents set forth the sections of the ordinance allegedly violated by the defendant, it appears that the sections in questions are sections 12-25, 12-26, 12-27 and 12-30-32. No other law was produced or relied upon by the city.”
Those sections cover the city’s ordinance banning pit pulls, penalties related to dog offenses, owner responsibility, impoundment and redemption.
Jim Robertson, the victim, testified during the April trial that he was walking in the vicinity of East Gresham and Highland Drive on March 5 when he was attacked.
Later in the same trial, White denied that the dogs that attacked Robertson belonged to him, and he also denied owning pit bulls.
Animal Control Officer Jamie Davis testified that the dogs that were later removed from White’s Highland Drive residence were pit bulls.
Dorsey cited “no credible evidence” was provided by the city to suggest White’s American Bullies were XLs and should be classified as pit bulls.
As for the dogs that attacked Robertson, the court sided again with White.
“The city failed to prove that the defendant’s dogs were at large without a leash, as it was not proven that the attackers were in fact his dogs,” Dorsey said in the motion.
Davis and Indianola Animal Shelter Director Katherine Chudy testified that blood was found on at least one of White’s dogs when they were retrieved that day.
However, that was not compelling enough for the court.
“The city produced no witnesses with any personal knowledge of the characteristics of the dogs that engaged in attacking the victim,” Dorsey said in her motion. “There was scant testimony that at least one of the dogs retrieved from the defendant’s residence had a ‘little bit of blood on it,’ but that alone is insufficient.”
Dorsey noted issues with an affidavit that had apparently been signed by Chudy.
“It is not clear whether the affidavit was ever provided to the defendant to place him on notice or any charges made against him,” the ruling said. “The affidavit signed by Katherine Chudy does not mention the defendant at all, nor does it say anything other than certain dogs were picked up at a specific residence after a dog bite. The affidavit does not accuse the defendant of any crime.”
Dorsey went on to say, “The court finds that this matter is dismissed due to insufficient charging documents filed against the defendant. Even if the court had found that the charging documents were valid, the City of Indianola failed to meet its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The judge noted regarding the facts of the case that the victim, while testifying in April, “was unable to provide any information regarding the appearance of the animals. He simply did not see where the dogs came from, nor did he see the dogs that attacked him.”
After the trial, The E-T interviewed eyewitness Ellis Brown at the municipal court building, who had been talking to Robertson moments before the attack happened.
He said that he ran to Robertson’s aid, firing a gun into the air to scare the dogs away.
Brown noted that the dogs appeared to run into White’s yard after he fired the shot.
Brown did not testify at the trial.
“Although there appeared to be an important eyewitness to the incident, the city failed to provide any eyewitness testimony in this case, and therefore there were no persons who could identify the dogs as belonging to the defendant or coming from the proximity of his yard,” Dorsey said.
Dorsey’s motion concluded, “While it is unfortunate that the victim suffered a horrible attack, the city carries the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt; the defendant does not. The City of Indianola simply failed to meet its burden of proof. For these reasons set forth above the court finds that the charges against Laderean White are hereby dismissed and any dogs seized from Mr. White’s residence shall be returned to him immediately following the entry of this order.”
