Lewark Case

Brevard County Clerk of Court Register of actions for the Lewark case shows seven letters have been docketed. And we have only just gotten started!

Jordan going to Jury Trial

When Jordan was arrested a year ago, he was charged with dog fighting. A police office witnessed people participating in a fight. There was a lack of evidence to support the dog fighting. The State Attorney charged Jordan with multiple counts of poor conditions for the dogs. See the conditions at this link

Letters for the Lewark Sentencing

Rusty Lewark brutally killed his two dogs. One with an ax, one with a blunt stick. He was arrested and let out on bond with restrictions. One of those restrictions was not to be around animals. Lewark violated the provision and was put into jail.

At a recent hearing, Lewark decided to plead guilty to his crimes.

We are sending letters to the State Attorney's office asking for maximum punishment. We are also requesting that Lewark not be allowed to live with animals until he can prove to a court he is capable of owning animals. Sometimes a sentence will have the provision of no animals while on probation. That is not enough.

No matter how much time Lewark serves in jail, he will very likely remain a threat to animals. His historic actions (arson, animal cruelty) exhibit documented signs attributed to other criminals who have eventually harmed people. Yes, we want to see justice and for Lewark to pay for his crime with jail time. More importantly, though, we want to protect animals from Lewark.

If you write a letter please stress the importance of Lewark never being allowed to live with animals until he proves to a court he can. We say live with and not own because saying own gives a loophole where Lewark can then live with someone who owns a dog, cat, etc.

We have a sample letter available in our Letter Writing for specific cases link on the left column of the website. Feel free to download the sample, edit it and mail it in. If you send a copy to the clerk of court, the letter may get docketed.

Luctria Blackmon arrested 6/18 for Cruelty to Animals.

At the initial appearance before Judge Kenneth Friedland, Ms Blackmon stated she was trying to get a knife away from her domestic partner of 11 years. During the struggle her partner was injured as was the dog. Ms. Blackmon said she did not know how how the dog got hurt.

Next court date is July 13, 2010 before Judge John Harris.

Sample Letters for Lewark

We plan on having sample letters for you to use when writing to the prosecution in the Lewark case by Monday.

Lewark Pleaded Guilty

Rusty Lewark was going to be going to jury trial when he suddenly changed his mind and decided to plead guilty on June 16, 2010. Sentencing is currently scheduled for August 11, 2010 at 11 a.m. in Viera.

Lewark brutally killed two of his dogs in February. He tried to choke one and then he beat it with an ax. He then tried to hang the other one, and beat that one with a stick. They both were dumped in a dumpster. The dogs were dead when their bloody bodies were recovered by the police.

Florida Today has the story on the latest court appearance. Link to http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100617/NEWS01/6170330/1006/Rockledge+man+pleads+guilty+to+animal+cruelty+in+death+of+2+dogs

James Griffin: Arrested for intentionally causing harm to his pet hedgehog

The allegations are:

• James Griffin abandoned his pet hedgehog in an apartment with no food or water.
• Hedgehog was found with rubberbands around her back feet causing loss of circulation and infection to both back feet.

Witness testimony will support

• the hedgehog was found in Griffin's vacated apartment with no food or water
• both back feet had rubberbands on them, one foot was black due to loss of circulation
• Griffin stated, laughingly, to witness he used rubberbands on the hedgehog's feet cause he used her as a bowling ball
  
• the hedgehog's right rear root that was tied off was severely infected, the left rear foot was tied off and infected.

We will be following the case and information will be updated on the link to James Griffin