Puppy choked with leash
McKinleyville, CA (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008
County: Humboldt
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Mark Stanley Ghirardo
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A 50-year-old parolee was arrested Thursday afternoon in McKinleyville after a nearly two-hour stand-off with law enforcement that started after he allegedly tried to strangle his dog with its leash, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Mark Stanley Ghirardo, who was released from his parole status on Tuesday, was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty, threatening a peace officer and resisting arrest, Sheriff’s Office Lt. George Cavinta said. The man, who lives in a cabin in a trailer park at 2331 Central Ave., “had obviously consumed some sort of intoxicating substance,” Cavinta said.
A call came in at about 1:30 p.m. and upon deputies’ arrival, the man reportedly went inside his residence, the Sheriff’s Office said. When a deputy tried to get Ghirardo to go back outside, the man challenged the deputy to come inside, Cavinta said. The deputy then stood back and waited for back-up law enforcement to arrive, and Ghirardo took a fighting stance and challenged the deputy “with one hand behind his back, as if he had a weapon,” Cavinta said.
Six deputies and detectives from the Sheriff’s Office, along with law enforcement from the California Highway Patrol, Trinidad Police Department, Yurok Tribal Police Department and State Parole responded and set up a perimeter, Cavinta said, and a crisis negotiator was brought in as well.
At one point, Ghirardo started playing loud music in his home and was unable to hear negotiation communications, the Sheriff’s Office said. “It was his way to tell us he wasn’t coming out,” Cavinta said.
The man’s power was later shut off and he eventually came outside of his home on his own at about 3 p.m., Cavinta said. The stand-off attracted many nearby residents and after Ghirardo was taken into custody, residents in the trailer park applauded, Cavinta said.
“We’re happy this thing was resolved and he was taken into custody,” he said. “It was a perfect situation — we set up a perimeter and continued negotiations. We were thankful he came out on his own.”
Case UpdatesA McKinleyville man arrested last week after a standoff with law enforcement that began after he allegedly abused a puppy pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of animal cruelty and resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
Mark Stanley Ghirardo, who was released from his parole status just days prior to his arrest, remains in custody at the Humboldt County jail on $50,000 bail. He has a bail hearing scheduled for today and a trial scheduled for July 21.
The 50-year-old man was arrested Thursday after a 1.5-hour standoff at his mobile home at 2331 Central Ave. He allegedly tried to strangle a female pit bull-mix puppy with her leash and appeared to be intoxicated. The 4-month-old brown and white puppy was taken to the Humboldt County Animal Shelter.
Before authorities arrived, Ghirardo allegedly made statements to neighbors indicating he might slit the dog’s throat with a knife, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Lt. George Cavinta said in a previous interview. The man threw the knife to the ground, put a leash on the puppy, picked her up and slung her through the air, and carried her for a short distance before dropping her to the ground, Cavinta said.
Ghirardo then allegedly kicked the dog twice until she ran away. | Source: Eureka Reporter - June 30, 2008
Update posted on Jul 1, 2008 - 11:24AM |
References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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