Post by johnb417 on Jun 7, 2012 14:08:23 GMT -5
Was Mark Greco acting in self-defense when he shot a growling dog barreling towards him on the pursuit of a prey in a remote part of his Ennismore property?
Or did the 35-year-old former paralegal vindictively shoot a lovable, mild-mannered, 15-pound beagle that happened onto his property because it disrupted his deer hunt?
Those were the contrasting arguments put to Mr. Justice Donald Halikowski in the closing submissions of Greco’s trial in Ontario Court of Justice Wednesday.
Crown attorney Ken Polley said Greco greatly exaggerated the danger he was facing when a pair of hunting beagles trailing a deer ran onto his property, surprising the avid hunter Nov. 10, 2011.
“This is not a big dog. This is a friendly dog. It’s not aggressive,” Polley said. “(Greco) clearly exaggerated in order to make his position stronger. There is no way a beagle is going to cause him serious bodily harm.”
Defense lawyer Bernie O’Brien said his client was within his rights to shoot the beagle with a shotgun to protect himself from an aggressive animal.
“Even a small animal like a beagle can make you bleed out,” he said. “These animals are not benign.”
The dog’s owner Donald Moore was hunting with neighbors when his two beagles pursued a scent and ran into a forested area in Greco’s 110-acre property, court heard.
Fifteen minutes later, Moore’s party heard three shotgun blasts and only one dog returned to the group, court heard.
Crown witnesses described the dead dog as a cherished, 2 ½-year-old family pet that would interact with young children and never bite a soul.
Greco said he was hunting in a swampy area when the dog came towards him with its teeth bared.
He took two warning shots before shooting it square in the chest, he said. Greco said he was holding a loaded shotgun so shooting the dog was the safest choice he had.
Mark Yourkevich, the lead safety instructor for the Canadian Firearms Institute, was called as a defense expert Tuesday.
Putting down a loaded gun or making quick movements with it would have been a highly dangerous thing for Greco to do, he said.
“You never let a loaded firearm out of your hands,” he said. “That would be the least safe thing to do. You could accidentally discharge it.”
Yourkevich said he has hunted with beagles his whole life and has seen them bite people while caught up in the excitement of a chase.
“It’s something that could happen when they are hunting, they don’t want to stop,” he said.
He said he might have done the same thing Greco did if put in the same situation.
“If a beagle was running at me with a loaded firearm in my hand that would concern me greatly…that I would fall and lose control of the firearm and I would shoot myself,” he said.
During-cross examination, Polley said Greco could have fired all three shots into the air and safely put his empty shotgun on the ground to fight off the dog.
The worst-case scenario was a bite from a small dog, which did not pose enough of a threat to justify shooting it, Polley said.
“The worst thing that is going to happen to Mr. Greco is he’s alone in the woods with a beagle that is going to bite him,” he said.
Greco pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing an animal, mischief under $5,000 and using a firearm while committing an offense.
Halikowski is expected to give his decision when the case resumes in Oshawa June 21.
NOTE: Crown attorney Ken Polley and Mr. Justice Donald Halikowski were brought in from outside jurisdictions because Mark Greco used to practice as a Peterborough paralegal.
Or did the 35-year-old former paralegal vindictively shoot a lovable, mild-mannered, 15-pound beagle that happened onto his property because it disrupted his deer hunt?
Those were the contrasting arguments put to Mr. Justice Donald Halikowski in the closing submissions of Greco’s trial in Ontario Court of Justice Wednesday.
Crown attorney Ken Polley said Greco greatly exaggerated the danger he was facing when a pair of hunting beagles trailing a deer ran onto his property, surprising the avid hunter Nov. 10, 2011.
“This is not a big dog. This is a friendly dog. It’s not aggressive,” Polley said. “(Greco) clearly exaggerated in order to make his position stronger. There is no way a beagle is going to cause him serious bodily harm.”
Defense lawyer Bernie O’Brien said his client was within his rights to shoot the beagle with a shotgun to protect himself from an aggressive animal.
“Even a small animal like a beagle can make you bleed out,” he said. “These animals are not benign.”
The dog’s owner Donald Moore was hunting with neighbors when his two beagles pursued a scent and ran into a forested area in Greco’s 110-acre property, court heard.
Fifteen minutes later, Moore’s party heard three shotgun blasts and only one dog returned to the group, court heard.
Crown witnesses described the dead dog as a cherished, 2 ½-year-old family pet that would interact with young children and never bite a soul.
Greco said he was hunting in a swampy area when the dog came towards him with its teeth bared.
He took two warning shots before shooting it square in the chest, he said. Greco said he was holding a loaded shotgun so shooting the dog was the safest choice he had.
Mark Yourkevich, the lead safety instructor for the Canadian Firearms Institute, was called as a defense expert Tuesday.
Putting down a loaded gun or making quick movements with it would have been a highly dangerous thing for Greco to do, he said.
“You never let a loaded firearm out of your hands,” he said. “That would be the least safe thing to do. You could accidentally discharge it.”
Yourkevich said he has hunted with beagles his whole life and has seen them bite people while caught up in the excitement of a chase.
“It’s something that could happen when they are hunting, they don’t want to stop,” he said.
He said he might have done the same thing Greco did if put in the same situation.
“If a beagle was running at me with a loaded firearm in my hand that would concern me greatly…that I would fall and lose control of the firearm and I would shoot myself,” he said.
During-cross examination, Polley said Greco could have fired all three shots into the air and safely put his empty shotgun on the ground to fight off the dog.
The worst-case scenario was a bite from a small dog, which did not pose enough of a threat to justify shooting it, Polley said.
“The worst thing that is going to happen to Mr. Greco is he’s alone in the woods with a beagle that is going to bite him,” he said.
Greco pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing an animal, mischief under $5,000 and using a firearm while committing an offense.
Halikowski is expected to give his decision when the case resumes in Oshawa June 21.
NOTE: Crown attorney Ken Polley and Mr. Justice Donald Halikowski were brought in from outside jurisdictions because Mark Greco used to practice as a Peterborough paralegal.