IN THE BOOKS: Animal abuse and neglect case files in 2011
Bernardino Gomez III
Lansing Man arrested after eluding the law for three years and pleads guilty to dog fighting charges.
Bernardino Gomez III pled guilty in Judge Aquilina’s court room and will be sentenced in May. Ingham County animal control officers were assisting law enforcement agents on a separate complaint at Gomez’s residence when 28 pit bulls were discovered in cages in the basement of Gomez’s home where he lived with his wife and two children in April of 2008. Gomez claimed he was breeding the dogs for sale. The dogs were in poor condition and had multiple fighting scars on them. There were also items discovered directly related to dog fighting in the home. All 29 dogs were taken in to custody by ICAC where they were housed and cared for. Gomez eluded the police by fleeing the state. ICAC housed the dogs for over six months before the court gave final custody to ICAC.
A financial judgment in excess of $30,000 was placed against the wife of Gomez who was seeking to reclaim the dogs in Judge Aquilina’s court. Judge Aquilina placed a judgment against Jamie Gomez for the care of the animals in her husband’s absence as he fled the state. No money has been repaid by the Gomez’s to Ingham County for the care of the 28 dogs. Several of the dogs were re-homed but several of the dogs were extremely animal-aggressive and deemed too unsafe to be adopted.
Ruth Elizabeth Maxwell
Lansing woman charged with two counts of animal cruelty.
Ruth Elizabeth Maxwell, 25 of Lansing has been charged in connection with the severe starvation of two dogs under her care in November 2009. The first dog named by the ICAC staff as Emmy died shortly after her arrival. According to staff at ICAC it was one of the worst cases of malnutrition they’d ever seen. A second dog was later discovered by Officer Y. Gaines that was in similar condition after officers visited Maxwell’s home.
Kitayi Burks
Lansing man pleads no contest to a felony county of animal killing/torture.
Kitayi Burks, 27, pleaded no contest in July, 2011 to a felony count of animal killing and was sentenced to six months in jail. A pit bull was found dead and frozen earlier this year inside a pet carrier starved to death over the course of weeks to months. The body fat content of the pit bull's bone marrow was 0.5 percent. The normal range is about 60 percent.
Judge Canady suspended four months of Burks' sentence. The Lansing resident will serve two months in jail and then 18 months of probation. Burks was also ordered to pay more than $1,900 in fines and costs and said Burks could not own or maintain any animals. Burks was the owner of the dog. If Burks violates probation, he would have to serve another four months in jail.
Burk's has a previous felony conviction for larceny and eight misdemeanors - including convictions involving marijuana and cocaine use.
Ray Emmanuel Potter
Dimondale man charged with animal cruelty.
Ray Emmanuel Potter, 24 of Dimondale has been charged in 54A District Court with misdemeanor animal abandonment. Potter was charged in the case pertaining to the dog referred to as Tatiana who was left in a hidden wooded area with her feet bound with tape and her muzzle taped shut in freezing temperatures. Her body was frozen to the ground when she was discovered by a man walking his dogs. Potter was in a relationship with the owner of the dog.
Potter faces additional unrelated felony charges of larceny and writing bad checks. He is currently in the Ingham County jail. Tatiana is in foster care but cannot be adopted until the courts decide her fate. Her previous owner has refused to relinquish her for adoption.