PRESQUE ISLE (AP) – Because of a legislative drafting error, three Presque Isle teenagers accused of cutting, stabbing and beating to death a dog that they stole from a local resident’s yard can only face a misdemeanor charge, officials said.

The boys, ages 17 and 16, were arrested two weeks ago on charges of aggravated animal cruelty and theft.

Because of the legal error, the boys cannot be charged as adults, Assistant District Attorney Carrie Linthicum said Tuesday, and potentially will face lighter punishment under the juvenile system.

The three allegedly entered a random back yard in early June and took a 4-year-old mixed-breed dog named C.C. with the intent to kill her, according to police reports.

After the three juveniles were arrested, police said the motive for the crime was “wanting to kill something not human.”

Because of the mistake in the way the law was written, the aggravated animal cruelty charge is not listed as a Class C felony, although it was before July 2004 and will again starting in September.

The state Office of Policy and Legal Analysis said the aggravated charge now defaults to a Class D misdemeanor because of a drafting error by the policy board of the Maine Criminal Justice Information System.

The board, which seeks to make Maine statutes consistent to allow for accurate citation, inadvertently repealed the paragraph that listed the offense as a Class C crime, OPLA officials told the district attorney’s office.

Legislative officials tried to fix the mistake once they learned of it, but could not make the change retroactive. The Class C crime without the retroactive provision was signed back into law by Gov. John Baldacci on June 2, less than 24 hours before the dog was killed, but the change will only take effect in September, 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.

District Attorney Neale Adams said that without the felony charge, there is no possibility of the teens being tried as adults. Because the three are juveniles and because the charge is now a misdemeanor, their names will be private.

At the time of their arrest, two of the teens were on probation from Mountain View Juvenile Correction Facility in Charleston for prior felony crimes. The two have been ordered held for future confinement until their court appearance. The third teen was released to a family guardian and was placed under house arrest.

Adams’ office has received about 200 faxes and several phone calls from dog lovers across the country and abroad expressing outrage at the killing and seeking assurances that the culprits will be punished severely.

Several local people are preparing a memorial service for C.C. on Friday evening on the bike path across from Presque Isle High School, where the dog’s body was found.

“The message we’d like to get across is that people need to be tuned in to where they are, and don’t leave your dogs out unattended,” said Lynn Wark, president of the Aroostook Animal Welfare Awareness Group.

Copy the Story Link