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| www.DogsInTheNews.com |
Volume II - Issue 1 |
July 2001 |
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Leo's Killer Gets the Max, 3 Years |
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Friday, July 13, 2001 - USA |
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Last night the Santa Clara County Probation Department stirred an outrage by suggesting that Burnett does not deserve jail time. Investigators noted that the man had no prior criminal record, but today Judge Murphy's dismissed all such opinions, stating, "It is a case that needs to be dealt with harshly." Just before the sentence was read, 27-year-old Burnett addressed the court with his show of remorse, "I'm just very sorry. If there is anything I could ever say or do to bring back Leo, I would." Sara McBurnett, the deceased dog's lifelong "mother", sat helplessly last year as her fluffy Bichon Frisé (Leo) was thrown to his death into heavy California traffic. Unconvinced of the man's apologetic sincerity, she commented after the trial, "He was told what to say to try to get as much sympathy from the court as possible. I'm sure none of it was genuine at all." Despite the defense's strategy having more holes than a chicken-wire canoe, defense attorney Marc Garcia stated that he was "shocked and disappointed" at the court's ruling today. Conversely, Judge Murphy noted that the Burnett's explanation of having reacted in self-defense to an alleged dog bite was "ridiculous" and an insult to the court's intelligence. On Monday July 16, Burnett is due again in court, this time to answer to four charges of unrelated perjury and theft of a company van. Let's hope his defense this time doesn't begin with "Uh yeah, that's the ticket..." Sources: |
UPDATE July 24, 2001: For those of you keeping score, Burnett was found guilty of these unrelated charges (theft, vandalism and misdemeanor lying to the police). Superior Court Judge Ronald Lisk set sentencing for Sept. 21, possibly to tack on an additional 16 months to the convicted dog-killer's three-year prison sentence. In court, the accused man argued that he had swerved to avoid a deer and plunged down Devil's Slide, a 450-ft. cliff off coastal Highway 1, destroying the Pacific Bell van. He claimed to have awakened hours later on a beach, dazed but not seriously injured, and wandered Northern California for eight days before going to a hospital. One juror stated, "It was just an unbelievable story." I suppose it's just as well that he cut the story short—before getting to the part where he met Brooke Shields and learned to cope with his newfound emotions while surviving on fish and coconuts... §§§
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| DogsInTheNews.com is brought to you by Canine Nation |
SAN
JOSE, CA — Applause
broke out in the courtroom this afternoon, but the convicted dog-killer Andrew Burnett showed little emotion
as his sentence was pronounced by Judge Kevin J. Murphy.
Despite listening to Burnett's last-minute apology and plea for leniency,
the Judge rejected the sentiment, as well as the other official recommendations for
probation; he instead sentenced
the felon to the maximum penalty allowable under California law: three years in
prison.
