|
|
The Sampson's beloved pet, a 15-year-old mixed breed German shepherd, was found dead in a wooded area near the family's home on Memorial Day. Witnesses told police they saw Aquino, a 40-year-old United Parcel deliveryman, give the dog a violent kick after it had wandered onto his property during a holiday barbecue.
Roxi got up and walked off the property, according to the police reports, only to be found dead later in the day beneath a tree.
Police originally charged Aquino with causing Roxi's death, a felony that carried a maximum two-year sentence. The dog's remains were exhumed from her owner's yard at the direction of the district attorney's office when prosecutors were notified of the case. District Attorney Kevin Wright said the exhumation was ordered so that a "necropsy could be performed to medically establish cause of death to support the felony charge. The results of the forensic examination due to the intervening deterioration of Roxi's remains was not legally conclusive as to the cause of death standard required in criminal cases."
Wright told the Putnam County Courier: "This coupled with the witness accounts of Roxi leaving Aquino's property by walking away and being unaccounted for for several hours made it impossible to sustain the felony charge that Aquino had intended to kill or seriously injure the dog with the aggravated cruelty that is required by the felony charge."
Sampson admitted that while she and her family wanted the felony count, "there was too much reasonable doubt. There is no question in our minds that he did this. He admitted to it. There were 10 different ways he could have handled this but he chose violence. That's the sad part."
Sampson called Roxi a "member of the family. It has been very difficult for us all but we have just adopted another dog. We wanted to help out a victim of Katrina. Foster families were being sought. The dog we got was from a foster home in Tennessee and by taking him, we made a space for a Katrina dog to go into his space in the home."
Sampson said the family's new pet is a "lot different from Roxi. I didn't expect them to be alike but it's nice to have a dog around the house again. We still miss our beloved Roxi!"
Wright called animal cruelty a "senseless and serious crime." He urged anyone with animals victimized by such cruelty to immediately notify authorities so that "critical medical evidence and proof can be preserved in a manner capable of presentation in court."
Aquino pleaded guilty before Putnam Valley Justice Louis DiCarlo and was freed without bail pending sentencing early next year. Aquino faces up to one year in jail plus fines totaling $1,000. Wright said Aquino copped the guilty plea without any promises or commitments from the court concerning the sentence.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Robert Noah while defense counsel Joseph Tock of Mahopac represented Aquino.
