 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Prior acts okay in llama trial
By ED QUIOCO, Times Staff Writer Prosecutors will be able to introduce three charges of previous animal cruelty at the upcoming trial of accused llama-beater Robert B. Pettyjohn, a Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge has ruled. The ruling paves the way for jurors to hear about those prior attacks because prosecutors believe a Feb. 11, 2001, attack on two pet llamas was part of a pattern of behavior. Pettyjohn and his friend, Brandon Eldred, are charged in the beating, which took place on Ranch Road in East Lake. Prosecutor Bill Burgess initially sought to bring in evidence of five acts of animal cruelty in which investigators say Pettyjohn was involved. At an unusual late-night hearing Monday, Circuit Judge Mark Shames threw out two from that list. Pettyjohn's attorney, Chip Purcell, contended that none of the evidence was relevant to the attack on the pet llamas. In court pleadings, he also argued that its "prejudicial impact . . . far outweighs" the value of what it would prove. "The court should weigh the emotional impact of the evidence on the jury," Purcell said in a written motion. "The emotional impact on a jury is huge. These are particularly heinous acts committed on defenseless pets." Shames ruled that prosecutors could tell jurors about three incidents from early 2001: Pettyjohn's alleged beating of a pet goat named Peter in January or February 2001. Investigators found goat remains buried in the back of Pettyjohn's former home on Ranch Road in East Lake. Investigators unearthed the remains, and Pettyjohn was charged with the attack. The bow and arrow shootings of two registered bulls in northwestern Hillsborough County on Jan. 17, 2001. One bull died; another was wounded. Pettyjohn and Eldred both pleaded guilty to that attack. Pettyjohn was sentenced to at least three years in prison, and Eldred was sentenced to house arrest and probation. The slashing of a third pet llama named Sir Lancelot with a titanium meat cleaver on Jan. 30, 2001. Prosecutors say Pettyjohn was present when Eldred slashed the llama. Shames decided not to allow evidence from two other incidents. In June through August 2000, prosecutors say, Pettyjohn strung the carcasses of turtles, fish and other small animals on a telephone wire in front of his home. In January 2001, investigators say Pettyjohn used a BB gun or powerful slingshot to kill gerbils or hamsters inside a motel room in Indiana. At Monday's three-hour hearing, Shames also ruled that prosecutors could tell jurors about a statement the 19-year-old made to Pinellas deputy Frank Felicetta on the morning of the Ranch Road attack. Both Pettyjohn and Eldred were charged with the beatings in which the eye of a young llama was gouged and an adult llama was fatally struck and sodomized. On the morning following the attack on the two llamas, Felicetta was trying to determine if Pettyjohn knew Eldred when Pettyjohn suddenly blurted that he and his friend had been "messing around with the llamas," Felicetta testified Monday. Pettyjohn, a former East Lake resident whose home address now is listed in Holiday, seemed relaxed at the hearing, wearing dark blue prison clothes, thin glasses and clutching a pocket-sized Bible which had passages from the New Testament and the Book of Psalms. He also seemed anxious to get to trial, which is scheduled to begin April 29. "I definitely don't want to procrastinate this any longer," Pettyjohn told the judge. "I have been waiting since forever." Eldred has already pleaded guilty to attacking the llamas, a plea that came with no deals from prosecutors. Burgess has said that Eldred could be called upon to testify against Pettyjohn during his trial. On Tuesday, Purcell declined to comment on Shames' rulings. "We are just getting ready for trial," Purcell said. -- Ed Quioco can be reached at (727) 445-4183 or at quioco@sptimes.com. PREVIOUS COVERAGE:Cruelty suspect's admission will be allowed
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times North Pinellas desks |
