An Oxford man has been charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty for allegedly neglecting dogs and chickens.
State police charged Monserrate Llantin, 34, of 150 Jacks Hill Road, on Thursday.
The criminal charges are the latest action against Llantin in this case.
Earlier this week, a judge ordered Llantin to surrendered his animals to the town and pay a $3,570 fine.
Judge Arthur Miller issued the ruling Tuesday in Superior Court in Milford. His decision ended a dispute between the town of Oxford and Llantin.
Llantin is free on a $7,500 bond and is due at Superior Court in Derby on Nov. 15 for the criminal charges.
5 dogs 12 puppies and 31 chickens
The town got a warrant and seized five dogs, 12 puppies and 31 chickens on Oct. 19 after documenting “neglect” and “cruel treatment.” On Oct. 26, the town filed a suit in Superior Court asking a judge to give it permanent custody of the animals.
The town’s complaint appears below. Article continues after document.
In court, Llantin tried to block the town from taking away his animals, declaring that his home had been unlawfully searched in violation of his Constitutional rights.
Here’s how the animal rescue went down, according to the town’s lawsuit, filed by attorney Francis Teodosio on behalf of the town of Oxford.
In the first week of October, Oxford Animal Control Officer Sandra Merry picked up two pit bulls roaming on Jacks Hill Road. Both of them had injuries. Merry had heard about complaints of dog fighting “in that area.”
At about 3:40 p.m. on Oct. 18, she returned to Jacks Hill Road with state Animal Control Officer Barbara Godejohn and Oxford’s resident state trooper, Sgt. Daniel Semosky. They went down a long, private gravel driveway to Llantin’s home at number 150.
Merry documented animals living in deplorable conditions. She found “a loose Rottweiler with running discharge from both eyes,” and eight puppies “appearing thin with bloated stomachs, depressed and listless.” The puppies were just eight weeks old, according to the suit. They had “inadequate” shelter, “no bedding of any kind,” and no water.
Semosky found a chain link enclosure that housed about 28 chickens in individual compartments, with no roof over their heads, and no food or water.
Merry found a water source and let the dogs and chickens drink. They all lapped up the water “immediately.”
Semosky and Merry then peered through the garage window of the house. They saw a puppy in a cage with a heat lamp over it. When they knocked on the windows, the puppy didn’t take notice. It was “listless,” according to the suit.
“Baby”
Semosky, Merry and Godejohn returned to the home the following day, Oct. 19, at 9:30 a.m.
State Animal Control Officer Godejohn knocked on the door of the home. Llantin “finally answered” and defended himself. He stated that he gave the animals water regularly.
“They are not neglected,” Llantin said, according to the suit.
Asked for licensing and rabies certificates for the animals, Llantin produced rabies certificates that did not match the dogs on the property.
Godejohn asked to see the puppy in the garage, which “was not moving at all.” Llantin produced paperwork showing he bought a dog named Baby at the Bridgeport Animal Hospital on Oct. 9. He then took a puppy out of the cage in the garage and handed it to Godejohn.
The puppy, just six weeks old, was “totally dehydrated,” according to the suit.
It had “white gums” and was “unresponsive.” There was “black slimy liquid all down the tail/rear.” Llantin first told his visitors that he was going to take the puppy to the veterinarian that day. When Godejohn called his bluff and started dialing the vet, Llantin admitted that he didn’t have an appointment.
Llantin said “he thought the puppy was going to die.” When Godejohn took the puppy, Llantin “did not object.”
Baby was taken right away to a vet for treatment. Merry said the puppy had to be euthanized.
The animal control officers examined more puppies and determined they needed medical attention for: pneumonia, anemia, internal parasites, skin infections, and one case of mange, according to the suit.
Semosky, Merry and Godejohn concluded the animals were “cruelly treated” in violation of state law. They didn’t have a warrant yet, but there was “reasonable cause to find that the animals’ condition” and how they were being cared for “required” the town to “immediately take lawful charge of these animals to safeguard their welfare.”
They decided to seize the animals on the spot.
The officers later applied for a search and seizure warrant to take away the animals. Superior Court Judge Richard Arnold granted such a warrant on Oct. 19 at 12:32 p.m.
In total, Oxford authorities seized five dogs, 12 puppies, and 31 chickens, as well as canine vaccines, some other medicines and a bottle of unidentified pills.
After seizing the animals, the town filed the civil suit in attempt to get temporary and permanent custody of the animals, as well as compensation for taking care of them. It also sought a court order declaring the animals were cruelly treated.
Oxford asked the judge for compensation in the amount of $15 per animal per day, beginning Oct. 19, for each dog that was rescued.
Illegal Search?
The suit triggered a court hearing, where the town made its case that the animals were suffering too much to be left in Llantin’s care. The town submitted 40 pictures of the animals, as well as medical records, into evidence.
In a motion filed in court by attorneys Emily Riordan and Shari-Lynn Cuomo Shore, Llantin sought to suppress the evidence. He argued that the search violated his rights under the U.S. and Connecticut Constitutions.
The search warrant was only sought after “repeated entry into Llantin’s private residence,” the attorneys argued. They claimed that the three officials from the Oxford police, Oxford animal control and state animal control division of the state Department of Agriculture conducted two “non-consentual” searches 18 hours apart on Oct. 18 and 19 — then sought a warrant.
Llantin also argued that the initial complaint of dog-fighting that was brought to Merry’s attention did not specify the name or address of any abuse, but merely complained of dog-fighting on Jacks Hill Road.
When the authorities came to his house, Llantin felt “intimidated” and “pressured to comply with their requests,” his attorneys wrote.
Both sides made their case before the judge in a hearing on Nov. 1.
On Nov. 2, Judge Miller issued a ruling siding with the town. The judge found that the town proved its allegations.
“The testimony of the owner and custodian was not credible,” the judge wrote. He found that Llantin “put the animals at risk and that the animals were neglected and cruelly treated.”
Judge Miller ordered Llantin to pay $15 per day for the 17 canines, from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1. That totals a fine of $3,570.
The judge also granted the town of Oxford possession of the five dogs, 12 puppies and 31 chickens.
Reached Thursday, Attorney Teodosio said the decision essentially granted what the town had requested.
“I think the decision was fair, and I think the decision protected the animals,” he said.
Waiting Game
The dogs and chickens are being housed at various shelters throughout the Valley. Merry declined to disclose the specific locations.
Merry said now the town is waiting to see if Llantin appeals the court order, before the town tries to find homes for the animals.
“That’s exactly what we want to do,” Merry said. “But we can’t until we’re absolutely sure that we are going to keep possession of them.”
