Posted on 06/04/2021 4:56:07 AM PDT by billorites
A Florida man who is accused of beating an iguana to death asked a judge to dismiss animal cruelty charges on the basis of the state’s “stand your ground” law. The judge said no.
PJ Nilaja Patterson was arrested after allegedly dragging, kicking and beating a 3-foot iguana in Lake Worth, Florida on Sept. 2, according to court records. The animal died as Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control was transporting it to be euthanized, the affidavit states.
Patterson’s attorneys Frank Vasconcelos and Carey Haughwout said their client was engaging in self-defense after trying to save the iguana from a busy street. According to the motion, the animal subsequently became agitated by a crowd and bit Patterson’s right arm when he tried to move it. It says he then “kicked the iguana as far as he could.” Patterson had to get 22 staples in his arm because of the bite, according to the motion.
“In this case, Patterson acted in a reasonable manner under all the circumstances because the wild iguana was first to engage with physical violence, during the encounter,” his attorneys wrote.
Florida’s stand your ground law states deadly force can be used if a person “reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.” Patterson’s attorneys argued that he had the right to defend himself since the iguana became aggressive first.
They also wrote that Patterson believed the iguana “could have injected poison” into him, CNN reported.
“Thus he rushed to incapacitate the iguana the best way he could in order to preserve its antidote,” they wrote.
Vasconcelos maintains his client’s innocence, and in an email to CNN, said they will “fight this case until the very end.” He also added that the iguana bite left his client with “permanent marks.”
Assistant State Attorney Alexandra Dorman wrote in response to the motion to dismiss that the entire episode was captured in a 32-minute surveillance video, CNN reported.
She wrote that the video shows how Patterson tormented the iguana, which “was not bothering anyone and did not pose a threat to anyone.” She said there was no provocation or no justification for the actions and that his behavior was unjustifiable.
During a necropsy, Dr. Virginia Sayre of Animal Control found that the iguana had a lacerated liver, fractured pelvis, blood in its mouth, blood in its abdomen and a lacerated tongue. She also said the lizard’s injuries were “painful and terrifying.”
“The Defendant unnecessarily put himself in a position to be bit by this animal,” Dorman wrote. “The State’s position is that Stand Your Ground does not even apply to this case because the iguana is not a human being.”
Patterson is due back in court in late July. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison for animal cruelty.
If he'd killed a white man, he would have been given a medal.
Great! Now that the latest season of Swamp People has ended, I'm looking forward to the next season of Swamp People: Serpent Invasion. Hopefully there will be a Season 3 later this year or early next year.
We use to disable ants, then watch them burn with a magnifying glass. I did it because my older siblings did. It was learned behavior. Thank God I never followed them and started smoking. They're all dead.
“Horse manure........ bleeding heart liberal verbal garbage”
I’m as conservative as anyone here but I guess my bonafides don’t include animal abuse like all you big and tough manly types who get all puffed up by kicking around puppies and kittens.
There was a story last week or so about a Tiger or Lion having gotten loose and wandering around a town in CA. Would you have kicked that animal if you came upon it? I think not. You and the other loud mouth “tough guys” would’ve broken the sound barrier while at the same time shitting yourself making your getaway.
Here’s an idea, get together with the other tough guys on this forum and go to the local animal shelter and adopt as many little kittens and puppies as you can and then take them home and have a wonderful time thinking of ways to cause them pain.
Ouch. You likely don’t play well with real people.
Let’s move along and be nice.
Ad hominem belong not withstanding, I get what you say, but your opinion, like mine, is just that.
I kill and eat. I kill birds, mammals and fish. Plants don’t count.
What kill I often raise, and have connection to, but they are here for me and mine. My knives are sharp, my eye practiced and my aim precise. Because I care about the critters. Pests, even them I kill cleanly.
But lets not cry over an invasive species. The guy didn’t kill a person over a pair of shoes. The critter wad inthe road and he made the mistake of being an “ interventionist”.
Boo hop.
I have never used any illegal or even nonillegal mind or body altering substance for play.
Anyways.
I think a jury will figure it out. The charge is ridiculous just because a left leaning PA can.
What is it with humans and "gotta watch the wild animal"?
Don't pet the bison.
Move along. Don't bother the fauna.
Years ago I would have offered for her to handle my iguana. Alas, our paths never crossed.
Florida should offer out of state invasive species harvest licenses. All you can haul iguanas, pythons, and lion fish. $10. I think it would be a great vacation. The state would make a couple bucks getting rid of them instead of wasting money. Maybe a few bums could get off the dole by being guides. People like me would spend money there and go home with coolers of meat.
Its worth a try.
I dont get it. Is the hide not thick enough to make something? Nice patterns.
I don’t think she would have taken the offer. A girl that beautiful is probably hounded day and night by men, all of whom have iguanas in need of handling.
So is ‘gator from what I hear. I’ll bet the same is true of pythons. Not kosher, but I wish all you gentiles bon appetite. Certainly no shortage in Florida, except for ‘gators.
Boys do some heinous things to animals. Most of it, I took no part in, but it is the majority out in the country. Some of it is dangerous to the boys. For example, throwing rocks at a stallion’s family jewels is hazardous to your health. Stallions are ornery even if you’re kind to them. I took no part in it, but I saw what I saw and was teased by the rest for refusing to take a shot, had to fight one of them, and lost. Not only heinous, but stupid.
Some of it is sexually perverted, too, but I only know from Larry McMurtry’s novels, since I moved back to Chicago before I was old enough to become interested in such things.
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