State v. Bergen

Defendant-appellant, Michael J. Bergen, appeals the bench-trial decision of the Hamilton County Municipal Court convicting appellant of cruelty to animals, a violation of R.C. 959.13(A)(2). We reverse the decision and remand for a new trial.

The record reveals that appellant tied Duke, his one-hundred-fifty-pound Great Dane, to a chain-link fence next to his house. The leash line was twenty-five feet long. Appellant placed ample food and water on the shaded porch within twelve feet of the fence, and departed to Brookville, Indiana, to visit his mother. He returned twenty-four hours later to…