[ SHOWGSD-L ] Man could get life in prison in police dog's killing
- From: "Cyndy Davis" <cyndy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <CHGermanShepherdShowDogsList@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:40:56 -0500
Man could get life in prison in police dog's killing
By HOLLEY GILBERT
Newhouse News Service
Published on: 10/25/07
Vancouver, Wash. - A transient arrested for shooting and killing a Vancouver
police dog could go to prison for life under Washington state's
three-strikes law if convicted.
Ronald James Chenette, 38, is accused of harming a police dog and unlawful
possession of a firearm in the shooting of Dakota, a 5-year-old German
shepherd.
Mike Salsbury/The Columbian
(ENLARGE)
Dakota was born in Slovakia in July 2002 and commissioned in Vancouver,
Wash., three years later.
Although harming a police dog is a low-level felony that carries a jail term
of up to a year, use of a firearm in the crime elevates it to what could be
Chenette's third strike, Deputy Prosecutor James E. David said.
Dakota was shot in the head and killed Tuesday when he was searching for a
man who had gone into a wooded area of Brush Prairie. About 1:45 p.m.,
someone called 911 to report a man with a gun walking along nearby railroad
tracks, and the man was seen fleeing as deputies arrived, Clark County
Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Bieber said.
The caller said the man was armed with a .357 magnum handgun and had stated
he wanted to "kill a cop," Bieber said.
Dakota was searching the wooded area when officers heard a shot about 5:10
p.m.
When the dog did not return to his handler, Officer Roger Evans of the
Vancouver Police Department, police sent a second dog to search. Akbar,
whose handler is Deputy Ed Bylsma, found Chenette at 5:27 p.m. and bit him,
as he is trained to do. Chenette resisted but was taken into custody after
being shot with a Taser.
Dakota's body was found a short time later.
When David outlined the incident in Clark County Superior Court on
Wednesday, Chenette remarked, "I should have shot the second dog."
Judge Roger A. Bennett ordered him held without bail. Chenette will be
arraigned Friday.
Chenette has an extensive criminal history dating to 1986, including two
previous strike convictions: one for second-degree murder in 1991 and one
for second-degree assault in 2000. If he is convicted of killing Dakota with
a gun, Chenette could be sent to prison without the possibility of parole.
He also is being held on multiple district court accusations and warrants,
including stalking, trespass, harassment and malicious mischief.
As sad as the death of a dog is, Bieber said, they are used in dangerous
situations to avoid the death of an officer.
"Dakota probably saved someone's life last night, either the officer's or
the suspect's," he said. "These dogs are a tool used for this very reason."
The mood at the Vancouver Police Department's canine unit Wednesday was
subdued. Evans spent the day at home.
"It's been very tough," said Kim Kapp, a police spokeswoman. "There is a
close bond between a canine and his handler."
Dakota was born in Slovakia in July 2002 and commissioned in Vancouver three
years later. He became a SWAT dog in July 2006 and was responsible for 150
narcotics finds and more than 100 suspect captures.
He was dubbed Dakota after the department sought suggestions from local
schoolchildren.
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