DELHI - A Margaretville man, James G. Lor, 32, was found guilty of violating the conditions of his probation by failing to notify his probation officer that he had contact with police within 24 hours of that contact, following a hearing in Delaware County Court, Monday, June 10.
Lor was originally indicted on March 21 by the Delaware County Grand Jury and charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony. In the indictment, Lor was alleged to have intentionally cause physical injury to a companion animal with no justifiable purpose. In a press release announcing the indictment, Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith said Lor killed a dog with a knife on March 12 and attempted to cook it and consume its organs. Lor was arraigned and has been held at the Delaware County Jail without bail, since the arrest on the indictment.
While he was not found guilty of the underlying charge of aggravated animal cruelty (that trial is scheduled for a future date), Judge Gary Rosa found sufficient evidence to establish that he violated his probation conditions, specifically a condition that he notify his probation officer of any contact with law enforcement within 24 hours of that contact.
During the hearing, evidence was presented which included recorded phone conversations and testimony from law enforcement and probation officers. Sergeant Michael Ferrara of the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office testified that he monitored Lor’s phone calls, and that he was asked by Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith to monitor those phone calls. A recorded conversation was played in court where Lor said he wanted to eat the dog’s adrenal glands to see if he would get an “adrenal rush.”
Public Defender Joseph Ermeti objected to the recorded telephone calls being admitted as evidence as “irrelevant.” The crime charged - aggravated cruelty to animals - includes an element of intent to cause extreme physical pain, Ermeti said. There was no evidence presented to support the elements of the charge, Ermeti said.
There was also no necropsy - a postmortem examination on an animal species - performed on the dog which reveals its cause, mode, and manner of death and evaluates any disease or injury, Ermeti said.
“It’s not against the law to eat your own dog once it’s dead,” he said.
Rosa allowed the recorded telephone conversation from the jail into evidence saying there was no justifiable excuse for killing the dog. Lor, in the phone call, said he killed the dog because it was “old and dumb.” The dog was losing hair, had a urinary tract infection and was “pissing everywhere.” He also stated to the person he was speaking with in the recorded conversation that he had given the dog antibiotics prescribed to him by a dentist but should have taken the dog to the “vet.” Later in the call, when Lor was asked why he tried to eat the dog, he said, because it was his “first kill.”
New York State Trooper Crystal Rhodes, who responded to the call of a dead dog, testified about finding Lor at the scene with blood on his shirt and hands and a deceased dog in the backyard. Rhodes detailed Lor’s statements at the scene, including his admission to killing the dog and attempting to start a fire to create a “funeral pyre.”
Rhodes testified that Lor asked her if it was “illegal to kill your dog?”
Rhodes also stated that she was not certain how the dog had died.
Rhodes transported Lor to the psychiatric hospital from the scene, she said, because she felt he was a danger to himself and/or others.
Ermeti did not dispute that Lor killed the dog.
Probation Officer Brittany Hornbeck testified that Lor failed to notify her within 24 hours of his contact with police, a condition of his probation. Despite being hospitalized at Bassett hospital’s psychiatric unit from the date of the incident through the following week, Lor had access to a phone but did not make the required notification as a condition of his probation.
Hornbeck testified that she did not see Lor kill the dog, did not know if he had a justifiable reason for killing the dog and did not know if Lor intended to cause the dog pain. She also did not know if the killing was done in a sadistic manner, she said,
In his closing arguments, Ermeti emphasized the lack of evidence proving the dog’s death was caused by extreme pain or in a sadistic manner and for no justifiable reason, a requirement for the aggravated cruelty charge. He argued that Lor’s failure to notify his probation officer promptly was a minor technical violation, not warranting the filing of a probation violation petition.
“It is possible that a person humanely kills his own companion animal with a knife,” Ermeti argued. “We’ve heard no proof of the cause of death; no necropsy showing us why or how the dog died and most importantly, there is no evidence whether the dog died instantly or over a period of time - that’s pivotal,” Ermeti said. “There is no evidence here.”
“It’s not against the law to gut or eat your own animal after it’s dead. There is no law in New York state that prohibits that,” he said.
Smith countered that Lor’s actions were depraved and sadistic, saying Lor killed the dog to eat its adrenal glands. Smith argued that even without a conviction on the animal cruelty charge, Lor’s conduct and failure to comply with probation conditions warranted a revocation of his probation sentence.
Rosa concluded that Lor violated the conditions of his probation by failing to notify his probation officer of police contact and engaging in conduct that could be deemed criminal, even without a formal conviction. As a result, Lor’s probation sentence was revoked and he is being held at the Delaware County Jail without bail, for resentenceing on the underlying charge.
Lor was serving a five year probation sentence after pleading guilty to a charge of driving while ability impaired by drugs, Aug. 14, 2023 in Delaware County Court.
