JUSTICE FOR KARLEY!
GLYNN JOHNSON CONVICTED,
JANUARY 26, 2010
OF FELONY ANIMAL CRUELTY!
Los Angeles Assistant Fire Chief Glynn Johnson was found guilty
of felony animal cruelty with special circumstances, (maximum
penalty of up to 3 years) and use of a deadly weapon to commit a
felony (maximum penalty of up to 1 year) on 12:54pm on 1/26/10,
after brutally beating to death a 6 month old puppy named Karley,
who belonged to Jeff and Shelley Toole of Riverside, CA.
Johnson's sentencing is scheduled for March 8, 2010. He faces up
to four years in prison.
On November 3, 2008, Karley had gotten out of the Toole’s
backyard, and their neighbor Travis Staggs was bringing her back
when Johnson offered to save him the trip and bring her back
himself. Staggs testified that he had reservations about leaving
Karley with Johnson, but gave him the “benefit of the doubt” and
handed her over. Staggs said that he had only taken his eyes off
Johnson for a split second when he witnessed the fire chief
erupt in violence, punching Karley 10-15 times in the head with
his fist. Johnson then used a 12 lb rock to bash Karley’s head
another 10-15 times. Staggs said that he even saw Johnson trying
to pry open her jaws with his bare hands. Staggs shouted at
Johnson to stop, attempting to pull him off the dog, but Johnson
just shoved him away, not even looking at him. A neighbor,
Stacey Brown testified that she witnessed Johnson strike Karley
in the head 2-3 times with the rock, and ran inside her house
and yelled to her husband, “Glynn is beating the crap out of a
dog!” Even Johnson’s wife Bonnie told Deputy Sean Conwell that
she heard Travis Staggs yell to her husband: “Stop hitting the
dog!”
On December 16th, Los Angeles Assistant Fire Chief Glynn Johnson
was arrested and charged with two felony counts; felony animal
cruelty (maximum penalty of up to 3 years), and conspiracy to
commit assault with a deadly weapon (maximum penalty of up to 1
year).
Last Chance for Animals (LCA) and supporters of Karley held a
large rally and press conference on December 18, 2008, thanking
the District Attorney for bringing charges against Glynn Johnson
and asking him to prosecute Johnson to the fullest extent
possible by law. LCA also asked L.A. Fire Chief P. Michael
Freeman to fire Johnson and to severely restrict his retirement
pension. LCA felt strongly that Johnson should be fired and put
behind bars for his barbaric act of cruelty.
“Without LCA’s involvement, we could not have gone on with
this case. LCA has given us the strength to keep going. It was
from the demonstrations and vigils that LCA organized that
convinced the DA to take this case and prosecute,” said Shelley
Toole.
LCA’s President Chris DeRose, with Jeff and Shelley Toole
in front of the Riverside courthouse.
"LCA's dedication to help the Toole's came from not only
seeing the horrendous abuse inflicted on Karley but also seeing
their tremendous courage and compassion shown by the Toole's in
their fight to get Justice for Karley.” We are glad to be a part
of putting animal abusers in jail; where they belong." -
Chris DeRose, LCA
The trial began on January 6, 2010. District Attorney Will
Robinson made his opening statement in front of bloody photos of
Karley, telling the judge and jury that Johnson attacked Karley
in vengeance, after years of fighting with the Toole family.
Over the years, Johnson had engaged in shouting matches with the
Toole’s, using a bullhorn, and had placed dog excrement in their
mailbox. Robinson said: “This was not an isolated event. There
was a long history of anger and frustration beyond the typical
neighbor dispute.” Jeff Toole testified: “I feared Glynn Johnson
would kill my family.”
The D.A. also questioned Johnson about his violent past. He
brought up an incident which is documented in a police report,
where Glynn attacked his 14 year old daughter Amber in their
backyard, after an argument. Johnson pushed his daughter to the
ground, hitting her with the buckle end of his belt, several
times. He then dragged his daughter back into the house, where
he proceeded to beat her again, shouting at her: “I wish you
were dead.”
Fellow firefighters showed up at Glynn Johnson’s trial wearing
“firefighters against animal abuse.”
According to defense attorney, John Sweeney, Karley had latched
on to his hand, forcing him to beat her repeatedly with a rock.
Sweeney said this was clearly a case of self-defense against a
vicious animal that nearly severed the fire chief's thumb during
an attack. Johnson testified that he only beat the dog with his
fist and with a large 12 lb rock because, “I feared for my
life.” Johnson also claimed: “I am not stronger than a 6 month
old puppy.” Unbelievably, Johnson also asserted that “Karley
played dead—she was faking it.”
Sweeney claimed that all the neighbors who saw the beating
simply did not witness the dog's attack on Johnson first --
biting his legs, arms and hands and then locking its jaws on his
thumb, eventually leaving it dangling by only a thread of skin.
KTLA reporter Chris Wolfe has seen pictures of the stitched
thumb and it appears that only the very tip of the finger was
sliced, and successfully "reattached."
Angela Howard, the first veterinarian to see Karley after the
beating, described: “Her right eye was protruding out of her
forehead. Her head was indented. She was losing blood in a
significant fashion, and her skull was fractured in 3 different
places. This was the most severe trauma I have ever seen.” Dr.
Howard said that Karley’s injuries were too severe for her to
deal with, and sent Karley to specialist, Dr. Sarah Hoggan. Dr.
Hoggan only deals with emergency cases. Hoggan was quoted as
saying, “Karley’s injuries were more severe than any dog hit by
a car I’ve ever seen.” Karley was so severely beaten that she
had to be euthanized hours later.
Jeff Toole’s brother, Larry, fought back tears as he told a
reporter after a day of testimony that Johnson murdered a family
member, and that he should “rot in hell.”
“Who does this to a puppy?” Will Robinson asked the jury in his
closing arguments. “She didn’t stand a chance; she was a 24
inch, 40 lb puppy against a 6’1, 225 lb man. She played with 2
year olds.” Robinson continued: “No one, no person or animal
deserves to die like she did. She didn’t deserve to be punched,
have her jaw broken, and her head bashed in with a rock several
times. The defendant was not truthful; he blatantly lied under
oath. Firefighters save lives. He took a life. You are not
defending yourself when you pound a dog 10-15 times with a rock.
Karley was defending herself.”
Defense attorney John Sweeney responded, “Who cries for Glynn
Johnson?”
LCA would like to thank everyone for their support and
compassion in the fight for Justice 4 Karley!!! Stay tuned for
future action alerts as your help will be needed to get
Karley's
law passed, now that Glynn Johnson has been found guilty.
Read the daily minutes of Glynn Johnson's trial from the
Riverside courthouse's public records daily minutes.
See the instructions below and click on the link.
Go to the middle of the page and click on "click here to search
court records"
Click on Traffic/Criminal Cases
In operator code: type "guest" then click on log on
Click on Defendant Search
Type in last name "Johnson then tab to first name "Glynn"
Click Search
Click on the PC 597(A) on any of his names
Up on the top left Click on "Case Report"
In the middle of the screen click on "Format the Report"
Scroll down the page and after the Charges it will show the
Actions and Minutes each day.
Please donate to LCA to help
us keep putting the bad guys behind bars!
Interested in volunteering with LCA? Write to us at:
Info@LCAnimal.org
Justice for Karley
