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The defense says the remarks are irrelevant. The prosecutor says editing the audiotape will hurt his case.
By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 27, 2002
TAMPA -- The animal cruelty case against Bubba the Love Sponge Clem rests on two pieces of evidence: a videotape of a wild hog's gory final minutes in the WXTB-97.9 FM (98 Rock) parking lot and an audiotape of Clem's on-air banter while the animal was prodded, castrated and slaughtered.
Prosecutor Darrell D. Dirks, who contends the hog suffered unnecessary pain to entertain Clem's fans, argued the audiotape captures the cruel, circuslike atmosphere surrounding the death of the hog, which was named Andy.
But on Tuesday, Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta ruled the jury shouldn't hear certain statements on the audiotape, mostly those of a Clem sidekick named "Spice Boy," who expresses sympathy for the boar in comments like, "Aw, poor Andy," and "This thing is a living, breathing animal."
The defense argued they were irrelevant because they came from the mouth of someone never charged. Also out: remarks by Clem inviting listeners to drink shakes of gerbils, rats and other animals.
Dirks objected vehemently to Ficarrotta's ruling. "To take this away from the state would be to gut our case," he told the judge.
Outside the courtroom, however, Dirks downplayed the impact, calling it "no big deal" and saying he thought enough remained on the audiotape to give jurors a picture of Clem's antics last February.
Clem, 35, could face five years in prison if convicted of a felony count of animal cruelty. Also on trial are his producer, Brent Hatley; Paul Lauterberg, the listener who brought the boar to the station and performed the castration and slaughter; and Daniel Brooks, a listener who helped hold the boar.
A six-member jury, with two alternates, was selected Tuesday. One juror is a retired police officer who acknowledged having participated in boar hunts himself.
The opening statement of the prosecutor, Dirks, took only a few minutes. It was delivered with little inflection and consisted mainly of the bare facts.
"The pig was named Andy," Dirks said. "That morning, Andy died a cruel death."
Defense lawyers argued spiritedly for more than half an hour. They came equipped with large charts establishing Clem's place in the structure of corporate radio and elaborated their core claims in the case.
They said the castration and slaughter of boars happens every day in Florida, even without anesthetic, in messier and more painful ways than the boar suffered here.
In his opening statement, attorney J. Kevin Hayslett, who represents Hatley, the producer, said his client was guilty only of reporting the events in the parking lot by phone to Clem.
The jury, sent home early Tuesday as the state attempts to ready its edited audiotape, will return this morning. Clem is expected to take the stand.