Aug. 28, 2001
A man who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after he left three live puppies in a midtown dumpster will be sentenced in Pima County Superior Court next month.
The barely alive puppies were found in the dumpster about one block from the Humane Society of Southern Arizona's offices, police said. Robert Carl Harrison, 25, of the 200 block of West Delano Street pleaded guilty to animal cruelty Aug. 16, said Dan Benavides, a spokesman for the County Attorney's Office. He allegedly told authorities he intended to drop them off at the Humane Society but got tired of waiting in line.
Harrison's charge is an open-ended, class six felony, which could be reduced to a misdemeanor if he complies with the terms of his sentence, Benavides said.
A judge will sentence Harrison on Sept. 14, he said.
Sgt. Judy Altieri, a Tucson police spokeswoman, said the puppies were found May 8 by a passer-by, who took them to the Humane Society office, 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. The dogs were about 8 weeks old, she said. "They were barely alive. Ultimately all three of them had to be put to sleep," Altieri said.
Within 24 hours, a tip phoned in to 88-CRIME led detectives to Harrison's house on Delano Street, where three other dogs, including the puppies' mother, Roxie, were found living in abusive conditions, Altieri said. "It was very unclean," she said. "They had no shade, no water." The dogs were adopted, Altieri said. Another dog found dead in the neighborhood was connected to Harrison, Altieri said.
Harrison was located by police and charged with animal cruelty by the County Attorney's Office. "In many of these cases, we don't locate a suspect, particularly if it's animals found either deceased or abused and there's no way of tracking them back to their owners or who may have abused them," Altieri said. "In this particular case, it was remarkable that within 24 hours we had a suspect identified. We feel that is totally due to the Humane Society putting out the information and the public's willingness to provide information about the case." |
