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Case #12805 Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Fourteen puppies thrown in dumpster, one survives
Riverdale, UT (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Dec 9, 2007
County: Weber
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Michael Ray Howard
Case Updates: 6 update(s) available
Thirteen puppies were found dead in a dumpster outside a Riverdale business. One puppy was found alive.
Two female workers noticed a tiny whimper coming from a cold dumpster behind their work place. The two women opened the dumpster door and found an oddly shaped garbage bag. When they opened the bag, to their horror, they found 13 dead Jack Russell Terriers and one struggling to survive.
The surviving puppy, now named "Precious" has since been adopted by a local couple. They say that judging by how many other people wanted to adopt the puppy; the other 13 could have easily been adopted if the owners had just left them in a warm box on the sidewalk.
If you have any information regarding who may have thrown the puppies in the dumpster; please call the Riverdale Police Department at 801-394-6616
Case UpdatesA federal appeals court has thrown out a challenge to a search warrant obtained against Michael Ray Howard, who was convicted of drug charges after police found large amounts of methamphetamine in his car in March 2008.
The appeal stemmed from a police search of Howard’s car and home. Officers found several items of drug paraphernalia inside his home and 164 grams of methamphetamine in the car.
Howard was indicted on federal drug charges as a result of the search.
Howard tried to suppress the evidence of the methamphetamine obtained from his vehicle, saying police did not have probable cause to search the car.
The affidavit attached to the search warrant listed several reasons for the search, including that the vehicle was observed in a drug transaction that had occurred at Howard’s previous home and that it was registered to Howard and was parked in front of his current home.
It also said officers had learned from an anonymous source that they had missed a large amount of methamphetamine hidden in the engine compartment of the vehicle after a search was done of the house a month earlier.
Howard argued that the three facts connecting his vehicle to his drug activity listed in the affidavit were not sufficient evidence to warrant probable cause. The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver denied the appeal, finding the reasons for the search warrant were enough to establish probable cause to search Howard’s vehicle.
Howard’s drug case ran almost simultaneously with another case in which he pleaded guilty to 13 counts of aggravated animal cruelty charges in 2nd District Court in Ogden.
Howard left 14 terrier-mix puppies to die, wrapped in a sheet and a plastic bag, in a bin behind a Riverdale fabric store.
One of the puppies survived and was adopted by a fabric store employee.
Howard was sentenced to a year in the county jail on the animal cruelty charges. | Source: Standard Examiner - Mar 5, 2010
Update posted on Mar 8, 2010 - 4:40PM |
A man accused of dumping a bagful of puppies in a Riverdale trash bin has been sentenced to serve up to five years in prison.
Michael Ray Howard was sentenced on 14 counts of animal cruelty and one third-degree felony count of illegal possession of a controlled substance. During sentencing, Howard said nothing, but his attorney argued that he should only serve time in the Weber County Jail.
Instead, Judge Roger Dutson sentenced him to serve 13 years in prison for the class A misdemeanor counts of aggravated animal cruelty, six months in prison for a class B misdemeanor animal cruelty charge, and up to five years in prison for the drug charge. The sentences can run together, and the judge recommended he be enrolled in a drug treatment program at the prison.
Howard's defense attorney, Daniel Drage, gave no explanation for the puppy killings, but said his client has a significant drug history.
"Mr. Howard's core problem in his methamphetamine use, addiction," he said.
Rita Woodward, the woman who found the lone surviving puppy, cried as she urged the judge to give Howard the maximum sentence possible
"All I ask is something is done for the puppies," she said.
Prosecutors said the crime was committed with "extreme depravity" and noted it was a touchstone for the passage of Henry's Law, which increased the penalty for extreme cases of animal cruelty to a felony. That bill was passed by the Legislature earlier this year.
Last year, Woodward was working at a Riverdale fabric store when she discovered a garbage bag in a trash bin that whimpered. Thinking it was a baby, she opened it, but instead found 14 puppies, only one of which survived. Woodward named that puppy "Precious" and said the dog is doing well. | Source: Deseret Morning News - July 7, 2008
Update posted on Jul 8, 2008 - 12:55AM |
A Weber County man who abandoned 14 puppies - all but one of which died - in a trash bin behind a Riverdale store in December has admitted to animal cruelty charges.
Michael Ray Howard, 35, pleaded guilty on Monday to 13 counts of class A misdemeanor animal cruelty in connection with the puppies that died. He pleaded to one count of class B misdemeanor attempted animal cruelty in connection with the puppy that lived.
Howard faces up to a year in jail on the class A misdemeanors and six months in jail on the class B misdemeanor when he is sentenced July 7 by 2nd District Judge Roger Dutson. Howard is already facing prison time in a separate case for possession of methamphetamine.
According to court documents, Howard told a Riverdale police officer he was unable to care for the terrier-mix puppies, who belonged to someone whom he refused to identify.
Saying he had no other recourse, Howard told police he intended to kill the puppies by putting them in a heavy-duty plastic bag and leaving them to suffocate overnight in the cold of his backyard on Dec. 8.
The next morning, believing all the puppies were dead, Howard placed the bag in the trash bin, where a store employee discovered them.
Howard later identified photographs of the dogs, and police located a witness who confirmed the dogs belonged to him, according to court documents. Howard was initially linked to the abandoned dogs by anonymous callers.
Officials believe the puppies were 3- to 5-weeks old. The sole survivor - named Precious by its new owners - is reportedly doing well.
Prosecutor Branden Miles said the puppy's owners plan to speak at Howard's sentencing hearing. | Source: The Salt Lake Tribune - June 3, 2008
Update posted on Jun 3, 2008 - 11:05PM |
Ogden police have arrested accused puppy-killer Michael Ray Howard. The Standard-Examiner reports today that Howard -- for whom a warrant was issued after he skipped a court hearing -- was nabbed about 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Ogden City Police Lt. David Tarran also says that when Howard was caught, an unspecified amount of drugs was seized.
Howard is charged with 13 counts of class A misdemeanor aggravated animal cruelty and one count of class B misdemeanor animal cruelty.
The charges stem from discovery of 14 puppies dumped in a trash bin behind a Riverdale fabric store in December.
Only one of the puppies survived. | Source: Salt Lake Tribune - March 13, 2008
Update posted on Mar 13, 2008 - 5:06PM |
A man accused of throwing 14 puppies into a trash dumpster last month says he did so because he didn't want to care for the animals, court documents reveal.
Michael Ray Howard, 35, tossed the animals into a dumpster in Riverdale on Dec. 9, 2007. A short time later, all but one of the dogs was found dead. The surviving Terrier was plucked from the trash bin and cared for by a woman who made the discovery.
According to court papers, Howard told police that he stuffed all 14 puppies into a heavy-duty plastic bag and left them in his back yard overnight to suffocate. The next morning, believing that the animals were dead, Howard reportedly tossed the bag into the dumpster.
It is unclear who the animals belonged to because Howard has not given the owner's identity to police.
Howard has pleaded not guilty to numerous animal cruelty charges. | Source: KUTV - Jan 12, 2008
Update posted on Jan 14, 2008 - 11:41PM |
Weber County prosecutors have filed animal cruelty charges against a man suspected of dumping 14 puppies in a trash bin behind a Riverdale store.
Michael Ray Howard, 34, was arraigned in 2nd District Court Thursday on 13 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, a class A misdemeanor, and a single count of cruelty to animals, a class B misdemeanor. According to court records, Howard appeared Thursday with an attorney after an arrest warrant was issued for him.
He was allowed to remain free on bail pending a Feb. 14 court appearance.
Howard is suspected of dumping the Jack Russell terrier-mix puppies in a plastic bag and then dropping it in a Dumpster behind a Riverdale fabric store. An employee heard whimpering and opened the bag, finding 13 dead puppies and one alive. | Source: Deseret Morning News - Jan 13, 2008
Update posted on Jan 13, 2008 - 11:31AM |
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