Pit bull owner gets 2-5 (A NH First)

STRATHAM - The Newton man who trained 43 pit bulls to fight each other will serve between two and five years in state prison, as part of a plea deal he struck with prosecutors Tuesday morning.

The case of Christopher DeVito marks the first time in the state that someone has been convicted of training animals to fight, according to Rockingham County Attorney James Reams.

"This is an unprecedented sentence," Reams said. "I think we sent a strong indication to people that this is unacceptable conduct in New Hampshire."

DeVito, 34, of 37 Williamine Drive, exhibited little emotion as he said the word "guilty" 23 times when asked how he pleaded to the animal cruelty charges. He arrived in court cleanly shaven, clad in a prison-issued orange jumpsuit and tan plastic sandals. He had no friends or family in the courtroom.

The remaining 15 animal cruelty charges against DeVito were dropped by prosecutors as part of the negotiated deal.

DeVito will have to pay the town of Newton $63,000 restitution for the care of the 43 pit bulls and he will not be allowed to own any animals again.

On each of the 22 other charges to which he pleaded guilty, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison, with the jail time on those charges all suspended. He will have to be on probation for three years after his release from prison.

Both sides had agreed to a one- to three-year state prison sentence before the plea hearing Wednesday. When the proposed deal was announced just after 10 a.m. to Superior Court Judge Gillian Abramson, the judge called the both attorneys in to chambers.

Neither DeVito's attorney, Michael Natola, nor prosecutor Reams would comment on whether the judge found the proposed jail sentence too lenient.

For the next two hours, Natola trekked between Reams - outside the courtroom - and DeVito - in a holding cell in the basement of the court - for further negotiations.

The case went back before Judge Abramson at 12:15 p.m., when it was announced that the parties had agreed to the two- to five-year sentence.

Attorney Natola would not say what precipitated the plea deal or why the deal was made at this time. DeVito had been slated to go to trial in September.

"This case was resolved as many cases are, by hard negotiations," Natola said. "What it had to do with was his conserving resources; the timing was right."

DeVito has been in the Rockingham County Jail since his arrest on Jan. 15, when police raided his home and seized the 43 pit bulls. The dogs were housed in a Quonset hut in the woods behind his home and some bore battle scars that authorities believe came from staged dog fights. One dog was missing a portion of its tongue, while another had two broken legs.

Police found dog treadmills, a blood-stained fighting pit, steroids and other equipment consistent with training dogs to fight on the property. The dogs were euthanized in May after it was determined that they had been trained to fight and could not be rehabilitated and placed in homes.

Since then, federal authorities have alleged that DeVito was involved in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering. Federal prosecutors have moved to seize DeVito's property in Newton, a host of vehicles and equipment, a condominium in Florida and a bank account in Texas. They allege the property was all purchased with drug money. His wife Lina, who has since moved to a southern state to be with her family, is also named in the federal forfeiture case. Natola would not say where Lina DeVito is now living.

Prosecutors are hoping that some of the $291,000 in cash seized from DeVito's bedroom during the January raid, will be used to pay restitution to the town of Newton.

The town incurred $63,000 in bills for the care of the 43 pit bulls. The money has been seized by the federal government as part of the drug forfeiture case. Local authorities point out the federal case would not have transpired if it were not for the January raid on DeVito's by local police.

"Those discussions are ongoing and I'm hoping they will be successful," Reams said of seeking restitution the drug forfeiture money.

Newton Police Chief Richard Labell, whose department headed up the investigation that led to the January raid, said he is pleased that the town will be repaid for caring for the dogs. As a precaution, the chief said, he has asked the town to place a lien on DeVito's property, in case the money seized by the federal government does not make its way to the town.

Lisa Dennison, executive director of the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, one of the lead animal welfare agencies involved with the case, said she was glad DeVito will have to serve time in state prison.

Dennison said it was the first time she could recall that an animal cruelty case resulted in a state prison sentence. Reams agreed, pointing out that a recent case in Rockingham County, in which a horse trainer whipped his horse repeatedly in front of people, only landed the man in jail for seven days.

Both Reams and Dennison said the DeVito case points to the need for stiffer penalties for animal abusers. Currently, cruelty to animals is a misdemeanor charge in New Hampshire. In the DeVito case, prosecutors indicted him on felony level charges, as training animals to fight is a felony.

"The conduct, we felt, was atrocious and we wanted to use the strongest possible statutes (to charge DeVito)," Reams said.

Natola said he takes offense with DeVito being referred to as a member of a dog-fighting ring. "Don't assume he was part of a dog-fighting ring at all," he said, adding that his client plead guilty to training dogs to fight, not being part of a "ring" or network of other dog fighters.

I saw one where the hyenas just kept nipping at this deer and they just kept nipping and nipping until the deer finally fell.

Really quite brutal!

Hmmmm, that's strange. Hyenas have immensely powerful jaws and are far larger than deer, and I would imagine it would only take one hyena to kill a deer rather quickly. Well, I guess I need to watch more Animal Channel.

No, It's me! I had Hyenas on the brain from reading your post. I believe it was some sort of pack of dogs or something similar that was downing this deer.

I didn't see the beginning and didn't watch the whole thing either. Too brutal for me!

Actually, it is the FBI who 'believes' this stuff. No one said that it leads to or causes someone to turn into a serial killer. Rather, it is a predictor of that. Does everyone who tortures animals turn into one? No, but I'll bet that boys who set cats on fire, and so on, grow up to be the type of person I wouldn't like as a neighbor.

The FBI doesn't consider hunting to be abuse, to the best of my knowledge. Those of us who agree with that theory probably don't either.

The Humane Society, IMHO, is overzealous, and most likely controlled by those we'd consider too liberal or too left. But, that doesn't mean that they are wrong on everything. Myself, I donate at the local level, and volunteer as an animal rescue transporter now.

I think jail time was inappropriate. Rather, the dogs should not have been fed for several days, poked with sticks, the man smeared in animal fat, and his pups let in the cell. Cruel and unusual? Perhaps. Justice? I think so.

I usually prefer the local level too. The ASPCA here in Houston is a really good organization. During the floods last year I spent a lot of time with them helping out.

Oh I am all for the stupid owner to get his just rewards, I like your idea. :-)

I donate at the local level,

The HSUS has no Local Level! They are not affiliated with your local humane societies.

It is your best bet to stick with your local groups though! No Kill shelters if you can find one!

I also agree with YOUR version of justice!

Right. I didn't explain fully. I meant donate to my local shelters. And, I found out recently that one shelter takes the aluminum soda cans that we've been leaving out for the city's contractors to take. The shelter makes about $100/month on it, which is pretty good. If a certain someone wants to drop them off on the way to work every week or so, their income from recycling will definitely shoot up!

Of course, he's really not a dog or a cat person, so, that'll be tough.

On a serious note, I have persuaded my sister to stop sending $$ off to those national groups.

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