Animal abusers should face stiffer penalties, Las Vegas’ DA says
After a bulldog known as Reba died after being placed in a taped-shut plastic tote this summer, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson on Tuesday called for higher penalties for people convicted of animal cruelty.
Cruelty to animals, a felony under Nevada law, carries a maximum of four years in prison and a $5,000 fine. But Wolfson said at a news conference at the Regional Justice Center that this punishment doesn’t fit the crime.
In late July, Reba was found in severe breathing distress but still alive in a plastic bag behind a Von’s grocery store. Good Samaritans took her to a local animal hospital, but efforts to save Reba’s life were unsuccessful. She died from heatstroke.
On Monday, the Clark County district attorney’s office filed a felony charge of cruelty to animals against two defendants in connection with Reba’s death, according to Wolfson. But the punishment that the defendants — Markeisha Chanpale Foster and Isaac Laushaul Jr. — face is, in Wolfson’s opinion, “not enough.”
“We should increase the range of punishment. Every case is different,” Wolfson said, adding that a more appropriate range might be one to 10 years in prison.
“I’m going to urge all Nevadans to reach out to their lawmakers. That’s what they’re there for,” he said. “Urge them to consider a bill to increase the penalties for animal cruelty.”
Though the maximum sentence for animal cruelty is four years, animal abusers can be up for parole after about 1½ years, he said.
“If this was your dog, would you think that a year in jail would be enough?” Wolfson asked.
Reba’s death prompted Wolfson to make this call to action because of, in part, an enormous amount of emails he received from the public demanding justice.
“It got so much attention because of the nature of the case,” Wolfson said.
Among the emails flooding his inbox were some calling for the death penalty for those responsible, Wolfson said. “I’m not suggesting the death penalty, of course,” he said.
“I’m a dog owner. I own three dogs. I love my dogs, so it touched me in a certain way, just like it touched so many people here in Clark County,” Wolfson said of Reba’s death.
Laushaul Jr. is being held without bail but is scheduled to appear for a bail hearing on Thursday morning. On Sunday, a judge set bail at $50,000 for Foster.
Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com.