CONVICTED: Was justice served?
more information on voting
When you vote, you are voting on whether or not the punishment fit the crime, NOT on the severity of the case itself. If you feel the sentence was very weak, you would vote 1 star. If you feel the sentence was very strong, you would vote 5 stars.
Please vote honestly and realistically. These ratings will be used a a tool for many future programs, including a "Peoples Choice" of best and worst sentencing, DA and judge "report cards", and more. Try to resist the temptation to vote 1 star on every case, even if you feel that 100 years in prison isnt enough.
Case #5218 Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Dog found dead in shed
Bethlehem, PA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jul 27, 2005
County: Northampton
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Damaris Heft
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
A dog found dead in a locked shed on Bethlehem Housing Authority property on July 27 has prompted an investigation by the Northampton County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
A housing authority maintenance worker found the dog inside the shed of Damaris Heft, who lives on Essex Court in the Pembroke housing development, according to authority Executive Director Clara Kendy.
Kendy said the worker checked the shed after a neighboring tenant told him she heard a dog barking for days inside the shed and then didn't hear the dog anymore.
After finding the dog, the worker called the police, who referred the case to the county SPCA.
The SPCA's cruelty investigator, Stephen Geyer, said he is looking into the incident, although he could not comment on how the dog died or what kind of dog it was. He said he did not know how long the investigation will take.
Kendy said the authority is pursuing its own investigation of the matter, and will wait to see if the SPCA files charges before it decides what, if any, action will be taken against Heft.
The authority has been unable to reach Heft since the dog was found.
''She is not answering the door, and she is not answering the phone,'' Kendy said. ''[We] sent her a letter, and there will hopefully be a meeting on Tuesday.
She added that, ''We know right off the bat it wasn't a legitimate pet,'' noting that Heft did not have an authority-issued pet permit, which is required of all dog owners renting from the authority.
Kendy said the authority will send out letters to tenants reminding them of the need to get a pet permit, which involves paying a $300 deposit and having the authority post a decal on a tenant's door to warn maintenance workers, who frequently service authority homes.
Case UpdatesDamaris Heft pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals and shrugged and mumbled Friday when asked why she did it.
Heft, 24, of 322 N. Seventh St., Allentown, said ''No'' when Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano asked if she had anything to say. She pleaded guilty Sept. 15.
''I need to know why you did this, because I think of this as a horrible action. This defenseless animal baked in your shed,'' Giordano said.
Heft shook her head, shrugging and mumbling. Giordano ordered her to spend 30 days to one day less two years in the county prison. A woman in the courtroom raised her hand.
''She's going to the jail?'' asked the woman, who identified herself as Heft's mother-in-law. ''Yes,'' Giordano said.
''She's never been in jail before,'' the woman said. ''Is there any way she could be released to me? I'll make sure she doesn't get in any trouble.''
Giordano said Heft would go to prison. However, he said Heft, who has a small child, could remain free until Nov. 14 to make arrangements.
''I have custody of the baby,'' the mother-in-law said.
Giordano said a presentence report revealed that Heft has mental health issues. When interviewed for the report, the judge said, Heft said she sought help for her illness because she ''didn't want to hurt anybody.'' The report also indicated that Heft had a ''nonchalant attitude'' about what she had done to the dog.
Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Thompson said he would not oppose a sentence of probation if arrangements were made to address and treat Heft's mental health problems.
Stephen Geyer, an investigator with the county's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, charged Heft. His affidavit provides the following account.
Geyer went to Heft's home at 1046 Essex Court, Bethlehem, on July 27, after being notified by Bethlehem police. Geyer found the decomposing dog in a shed. Two dishes, ''that were possibly for food and water but not sufficient for an animal this size to keep it alive under perfect conditions'' were in the shed.
The average temperature for the time the dog was left alone was in the high 80s and low 90s, ''with health advisories for elderly [people] and animals.''
A neighbor had told city police that Heft got the dog from a family member, and ''Damaris did not want the dog. Damaris told her neighbor that she feared the dog would bite her child, so she locked the dog in the shed.'' When the dog ceased barking, a neighbor called police. | Source: The Morning Call - Oct 16, 2005
Update posted on Oct 16, 2005 - 10:24PM |
The owner of a dog found dead and decomposed in a shed last week was jailed Wednesday on charges of animal cruelty.
A neighbor reported July 27 to the Bethlehem Housing Authority that Damaris Heft's dog was no longer barking in the 1000 block of Essex Court. Bethlehem police contacted Stephen Geyer, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals humane police officer, who found the dog dead in the shed, according to court records.
Judging by the amount of decomposition, the dog could have been dead for up to two weeks, court records state.
Two empty dishes were in the shed, but they would be insufficient to provide the dog with water, Geyer said in the report. Temperatures reached the low 90s while the dog was trapped.
Heft told police the dog was given to her by a family member and she didn't want it. She told police she locked the dog up so it wouldn't bite her child, records say.
Heft was arraigned before Senior District Judge Elizabeth Romig and sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $5,000 bail. | Source: The Express-Times - Aug 4, 2005
Update posted on Aug 7, 2005 - 4:43AM |
References« PA State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Northampton County, PA
|
