Andrea Rosebrock 
In July, James Jones of Ridley Township, PA, ran a 30 inch sword through the chest of Baby, a 3 year old American bulldog mix, that his wife, Pamela, had rescued as a puppy after weeks of threatening the dog’s life.
On Monday, a judge found James Jones, 47, guilty of animal-cruelty and weapons charges after he entered a no-contest plea to both misdemeanor counts.
Although he could actually face a a maximum five-year prison term for each count standard sentencing guidelines fall between probation and three months in jail for each count. In other words, he’s most likely wind up with not much more than a ‘wrist slap’ for the brutal killing of his wife’s beloved dog, Baby.
“This is a heartless and brutal act of cruelty and we are going to ask for a prison sentence that is commensurate with that act,” Deputy District Attorney Greg Hurchalla said, so we’ll see.
As usual, Jones claimed that the dog was aggressive which led to his brutal killing assault on the dog but Pamela denies Baby would have done anything even though Jones knocked Baby in the head causing her to growl at him.
“She wasn’t going to bite him, wasn’t going to attack him,” Pamela Jones said of the family dog. “He stabbed her in her heart and there was blood squirting all over the place, then all four of her legs got wobbly and she fell to the floor and she bled to death on the floor. Her tongue came out of her mouth and she was gone. I couldn’t even help her.”
“I still have nightmares,” Pamela Jones said.
Pamela immediately filed an abuse restraining order and is planning to file for divorce over this incident.
Jones did not make a statement in court … before Senior Judge George Koudelis, but he plans to argue at his sentencing hearing that he had not intended to “severely injure or kill the dog” and that the animal “was being aggressive” when the stabbing occurred, defense attorney Daniel Armstrong said.
Armstrong said Jones has no prior arrests and appears to be mentally sound.
“Then, bam – there’s this case at [age] 47,” Armstrong said. “Very unusual.” (Philly.com)
Jones has been behind bars since his arrest and is due to be sentenced in January after a psychological evaluation.
He’ll probably wound up with time served and probation is what I figure unless he gets a judge who actually gives a damn! I guess we’ll see come January.
THIS POS NEEDS TO BE LOCKED AWAY FOREVER. WHATS NEXT WILL HE KILL AN INNOCENT PERSON OR WORST YET A CHILD BECAUSE THEY LOOKED AT HIM WEIRD. THIS POS IS OBVIOUSLY A VERY VERY VERY VIOLANT PERSON.
Daniel Armstrong is a typical defense attorney, plucking mitigating factors out of the air.
It is not at all “unusual” that this offender has only come to the attention of the authorities at age 47. It’s quite typical for such abusers to terrorise their in-house victims for years and get clean away with it.
Then there are all the times that they are sprung and STILL get away with it, like my ex-husband who killed my four month old puppy. Even though he was reported to the SPCA they chose not to prosecute because they said it was not illegal to kill your own dog as long as it doesn’t suffer.
She suffered. He broke her jaw both sides after punching and kicking her, then left her sitting there screaming while he went outside, got a lump of concrete and came back in and stoved her little skull in.
He left her lying there in a massive pool of blood with several baby teeth scattered around her body that had been punched and kicked out of her head.
For 15 years he terrorised us and not once did he pay any penalty.
There is a rotten culture on our society of making excuses for these hideous bullies and it’s well past time it was sorted and the judiciary got a handle on what a life-long trauma these offenders inflict upon the recipients of their filthy natures. These guys are just plain nasty and not fit to live among the rest of us.
Oh, Karen, I feel terrible for you. I know I would live with those memories forever, too and I’m just glad that you were finally able to get away from that monster. I am so fed up with people getting away with terrorizing animals and people. It seems like your SPCA was negligent in their decision not to help see this case prosecuted.
Thank you Vicki. You are right – our SPCA is negligent. I’ve lost count of the number of people who told me they had reported the cruelty and abuse in just one Pit Bull puppy mill here, yet it has gone on in excess of 20 years. That yard was finally emptied of it’s tragic victims when distemper hit them.
They’ve spent shed-loads of money on their flash village out at Mangere though. Perhaps there is nothing left in the budget for prosecutions!
@Karen Batchelor – I AM SO SORRY ABOUT YOU PUPPY. BUT WHAT I FIND REALLY APPULLING IS THE FACT THAT THE SPCA CHOSE NOT TO PROSECUTE BECAUSE IT’S NOT ILLEGAL TO KILL YOUR OWN DOG AS LONG AS IT IS NOT SUFFERING, OMG GIVE ME A BREAK WHOMEVER SAID THAT IS FULL OF @#%^&*. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANYTHING SO POPOSTERIOUS IN ALL MY LIFE. WHOMEVER SAID THAT NEEDS TO GO BACK & DO SOME MORE STUDYING OF DOG LAWS.
Thank you, Janet. To thinking people of course it is utterly preposterous to consider it O.K. to kill your own dog, but in NZ it is in fact legal to kill your own dog (or cat or horse or cow) with the proviso that it mustn’t suffer.
So, we recently saw the case of a farmer and his mate who shot a cow, failed to kill her and then impaled her on the forks of his tractor and drove her along the road until he was stopped by a police officer who said it was obvious she was still alive as her head was up.
The measure of a society’s civilisation is the way it treats it’s animals. Seems this world has a disgracefully long way to go.
@Karen Batchelor – YOUR VERY WELCOME. IT JUST AMAZES ME HOW SOME COUNTRIES STILL CONSIDER THIS OK. I THINK IT IS SICK & VERY DISCUSTING.
Me too. So why is it that we see so many cases like this and a nil result from our courts? Who signs off such legislation as ours that allows Joe Public, usually with no medical knowledge, to dispatch an animal by whatever means available? What sort of people are they? And how do we get them out of positions of power and responsibility?
For me the answer lies in getting organised and getting the truth out there big time, as Deeanna is doing with this website – bless her.
@Karen Batchelor -
That is so sad to hear, Karen. If you don’t have the SPCA to rely on, who the heck do you turn to? I’m still shaken by hearing what your ex-husband did to your little dog and how he terrorized you, as well.
Well, Vicki, lucky for people like me and you and Deanna, we are made of tougher stuff. I’m sorry that Penny’s death has been so shocking for you and others but unless we let this abuse see the light of day, we can never foster the attitude which leads to the steps necessary to vindicate Penny’s dreadful death and bring her murderer to justice. He is also a serial rapist and child abuser – I haven’t given up yet by any means.
Who do we turn to? You. Deanna. Janet Mitchell and all the other right thinking fit parents and animal owners who post here, and who are rightly outraged and vent their outrage. What a fine family Deanna has brought together here and what an education for those capable of learning.
Thank you again Vicki – and Deanna
@Karen Batchelor -
Hi, Karen, I have read of hundreds and hundreds of abuse and neglect cases on http://www.pet-abuse.com. I was only shocked because someone close to this website had had to endure such terrible treatment. I just wanted to clarify this. Thanks! Vicki T
Thanks for posting the pet abuse website Vicki – we all need all the help we can get!
I know it’s always shocking when someone we’re close to divulges how we’ve been terrorised, but hey, isn’t that what websites like this are about? How healing is it for someone like me to get such unconditional support from folk like you?
Yes, Penny lost her brand new life – I wasn’t there when it happened which is why she died – but I’m still here now, and at the risk of sounding vindictive I won’t rest until he is held to account – and the NZSPCA with him.
I needed help for me and my pets and we had no-one. That’s by no means good enough.
My heart goes out to anyone who has to watch their own dog suffer – that would haunt me forever. No punishment is enough to make up for the suffering these dogs go through. I would expect a dog to be afraid and possibly aggressive toward a guy who obviously is abusive – the poor thing was probably scared to death of him. No dog deserves to suffer like this
(
She fear-bit him Debbie. He received a tiny puncture wound to his knuckle when he cornered her. She was a lovely sweet little thing and you’re onto it, she was terrified of him. To the extent that she would defecate with fear whenever he harassed her.
What a pity such abusers don’t have to have it tattoed on their foreheads.