WINNSBORO – Another Fairfield County animal cruelty case has concluded with no jail sentence imposed.
Sisk
Winnsboro resident Randal Sisk is no longer facing an ill treatment of animals felony charge that was filed in July. The case was dismissed during a preliminary hearing in magistrate’s court and was never sent to Circuit Court. Online court records list the case’s disposition as Nolle Prosequi, which means prosecutors are no longer pursuing the case.
The case’s dismissal comes in the wake of an investigation by The Voice, which found that virtually none of the 15 animal cruelty cases prosecuted since 2015 ended in jail time for offenders.
The Sisk charge represents the 16th case.
Sixth Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman Jr. did not return phone calls.
William Frick, a public defender who represented Sisk, declined to comment about specifics.
“They had no evidence that he committed a crime. A judge agreed and the case was dismissed,” Frick said Tuesday.
The dogs were placed into the care of the Fairfield County animal shelter while the case was pending.
One of the dogs, a tan male, suffered from chronic severe dermatitis and needed immediate medical treatment, including flea and tick treatment, antibiotics and antifungal treatments, according to a veterinary report.
The black male dog has since died. A necropsy report obtained by The Voice states the dog that died suffered from severe dirofilariasis, commonly known as canine heartworms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.
There is no record that either dog had been under a veterinarian’s care for their conditions when they were taken in by animal control.
The necropsy report on the black male dog states there were “large numbers of nematodes within the heart, the pulmonary artery and its branches.”
Follow up findings discovered a number of lesions in the dog’s tissue.
One was identified as polioencephalomalacia, which the report identified as a necrosis condition that’s rare in dogs. Multiple veterinary websites state it is more common in goats and sheep.
Polioencephalomalacia has been associated with “lead poisoning, cyanide poisoning, thiamine deficiency, cardiac arrest, hypoglycemia and cranial trauma,” the necropsy report states.
The condition has also been associated with canine distemper virus, according to a 1979 Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine study.
The other dog was returned to Sisk, said Bob Innes, Fairfield County shelter director.
“He’s already picked up his animal,” Innes said Monday. “He picked it up the same day [as the dismissal of charges].”
The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Department charged Sisk after a Winnsboro Department of Public Safety employee stated that he found two dogs in a back yard, chained to a tree and tangled in the chain so that one of the dogs could not reach shade.
An incident report also stated that the dogs did not have food, water or shelter.
One dog was clipped to a cable on an overhead run. A black male mixed breed dog without a collar was secured by a chain tied around its neck, according to the report.
The July case was the fifth time investigators responded to an animal complaint involving Sisk since 2009, according to police records obtained by The Voice.
Sisk shot a neighbor’s pit bull with a .22 caliber weapon, according to the 2009 report. He told deputies the dog was charging at him, the report said. The neighbor said Sisk’s dogs trespassed into his yard, and also that Sisk had, in the past, threatened to shoot the neighbor’s dog.
The responding deputy said in the report that the pit bull appeared friendly and “showed no aggression whatsoever.”
Three times – in 2011, 2012 and 2015 – officers were called to the 200 block of Hillcrest Drive after receiving complaints of a dog or dogs running at large. The reports stated the animals belonged to Sisk.
In 2011, Sisk was cited for allowing dogs to run at large after it was reported trespassing on a neighbor’s yard, the report said.
The 2012 incident involved one of the suspect’s dogs barking and jumping on a neighbor’s door, causing the screen frame to bend, according to the report.
Sisk, the report said, retrieved the dog and took the screen to get repaired. Deputies issued him a warning.
In May 2015, deputies responded to Hillcrest Drive after two dogs attack one of Sisk’s dogs while it was tethered in Sisk’s front yard, another report said.
The report said his dog had a puncture wound near its ear and also several scratches.
Outrageous! Multiple incident reports of animal neglect and cruelty but still no justice for these helpless animals. It is beyond time that Fairfield County levy charges and sentenced all who violate these animal rights. Advocates and proponents for animal welfare need to speak up and let your voices be heard at the ballot boxes, petitioning the county legislators and any other means to stand up for all God’s creatures. It is reasonable to assume that any person who neglects or harms animals will likely harm humans. Other animal abusers will notate this case dismissal as another sign that Fairfield County does not enforce their animal rights laws therefore the abuse will continue with no fear of serious retribution.
What would you have “Law Enforcement” do different? You are directing your energy at the wrong people. They DID their job. The man was charged and the evidence they had against him was presented. Do you have something personal against LEO or do you just not understand how this works?
That being said, I am a life time advocate for all animals. My family and I sacrifice so some my have a better life. Would I chain a dog up outside? Nope. Never.