Fortunately, the State's Attorney took the case in front of a Grand Jury.
This case is significant, because it is the first test of Maryland's new law, which makes Animal Cruelty a Felony. The new law applies to *attempted* animal cruelty as well.
Scott L. Rolle, Esq. (R)
State's Attorney
Courthouse
100 West Patrick St.
Frederick, MD 21701
Phone: 301-694-1523
Fax: 301-694-2195
Eric Grossnickle, 35, of Myersville, allegedly killed a pair of cats belong to a tenant, April Ritch. The incident reportedly occurred Oct. 1 as Ritch, 34, was preparing to move her family from their rented residence at 3200 Brethren Church Road in Myersville.
Scott Rolle, Frederick County's state's attorney, said the case would be the first tried under Maryland's new animal cruelty law.
"We went to Annapolis last year to testify in favor of the new law," Rolle said.
Grossnickle is charged with two violations of the felony animal cruelty law, one count of attempted violation of the law, first-degree burglary, two counts of destruction of property and two counts of theft.
Richard Bricken, who represents Grossnickle, urged the public not to rush to judgment because the alleged act were unpopular.
Felony animal cruelty carries a maximum penalty of three years in jail plus a $5,000 fine and psychological counseling. Attempting the act carries the same penalty.
First-degree burglary carries a maximum penalty of 20 years. Destruction of property under $500 carries a maximum penalty of $500 plus 60 days. Theft under $500 carries a maximum of a $500 fine and 18 months imprisonment.
By Kate Leckie and Susan C. Nicol
News-Post Staff
Ms. Ritch, 34, had nearly finished packing and was preparing to get her cats and leave when she returned to the house about 7 p.m. from a meeting with a potential landlord.
Parking her car in the 3200 block of Brethren Church Road, at first Ms. Ritch didn't recognize "stuff ... that I later realized was fresh blood in the driveway."
Upon entering the house that Ms. Rich has lived in since March, her cat Buffy, a calico, immediately "came running, meowing right at" her.
But Angel, another calico, and Babe, a Siamese, were nowhere to be found even though all three of the 2-year-old cats had been kept there as indoor pets.
Court papers said Mr. Grossnickle, 35, who lives nearby, admitted to Ms. Ritch that he'd shot and killed the two missing animals.
"He told me 'I shot two, and I've got one more to go,'" Ms. Ritch recounted Tuesday through sobs at the home of friends.
"I grabbed Buffy and put her in the car." She drove to her friend's house and told the friend to call the police.
Deputies arrested Mr. Grossnickle on Monday night, charging him with fourth-degree burglary and two counts each of theft under $500 and malicious destruction of property.
Officials with the state's attorney's office and animal control said they are considering filing additional charges pertaining to animal cruelty.
Initially jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail, Mr. Grossnickle's bail was reduced to $5,000 by District Court Judge W. Milnor Roberts during a bail review hearing Tuesday that drew gasps from those in the courtroom. Judge Roberts also placed Mr. Grossnickle on pre-trial supervision.
Frederick County Assistant State's Attorney Chris Remsburg said Mr. Grossnickle went into Ms. Ritch's home without her permission, took two of the cats outside and shot them with a 12-gauge shotgun. The third cat, which ran and hid, escaped unharmed.
After shooting the animals, Ms. Remsburg said, Mr. Grossnickle wrapped them in a towel, put them in the back seat of his car and drove to a bridge, where he stopped and tossed them into Catoctin Creek.
Investigators found the dead cats and the bloody towel in the creek, a 12-gauge shotgun in a truck belonging to Mr. Grossnickle's father and bloodstains in the back seat and on the tires of Mr. Grossnickle's car.
Mr. Grossnickle told deputies that although he originally told Ms. Ritch she could have the cats, he recently told her they had to go. He claimed they had been urinating on the walls, according to charging documents.
Defense attorney Richard Bricken urged Judge Roberts not to overreact, saying that his client had no previous record.
Furthermore, Mr. Grossnickle grew up on a farm, where "it was a regular practice when there were too many cats," Mr. Bricken said, drawing a noticeable reaction from the courtroom, some putting their hands to their faces, others shaking their heads in disbelief.
The shootings of the cats occurred on the day a new law took effect that makes the worst acts of cruelty against animals a felony. Under the new law approved this year, a person may not "intentionally mutilate, torture, cruelly beat or cruelly kill an animal."
But by shifting the worst offenses from misdemeanor to felony, a grand jury can hand up an indictment and police officers don't have to witness the incident.
In addition, anyone convicted of the felony would be prohibited from owning a firearm, as with other convicted felons.
The law didn't change the penalty, which is a maximum of three years in jail, a $5,000 fine or both. It did, however, allow judges to impose psychological counseling to violators.
"I didn't know I'd be in trouble," Mr. Grossnickle, a large, bearded man, told the judge during the bail review hearing.
About the same time Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Ritch was struggling with how she would break the news to her sons, ages 9 and 13, who were staying with their father when the shootings occurred.
Angel belonged to Ms. Ritch's oldest son, and Babe, who was deaf, had been a gift to Ms. Ritch's mother, Marialice, to lift her spirits after triple bypass surgery.
"They're like your babies. They're priceless," Marialice Ritch said.
"They were just the sweetest things in the world."
Frederick News-Post staff writer Douglas Tallman contributed to this report.
Ariana Huemer
The Humane Society of The United States
