ER - Mad River dog abuse case suspect speaks out

Mad River dog abuse case suspect speaks out
by Heather Muller , 9/9/2006

Stacy Malcolm, one of three people charged with 43 felonies each related to the Mad River dog abuse case, said in a brief phone call Friday that she and her husband, John Malcolm, have had their lives turned upside down by the accusations.

“We’re just trying to hold it all together,” Stacy said. “We’re trying, but it’s been hard. Real hard.”

Stacy said that one woman in Mad River had said that she and John “should be locked in cages with no food and no water in the heat of the day to see how it feels. That’s what it’s been like.”

The phone call was mediated by the Malcolms’ defense attorney, Timothy Noal Gray, who met with The Eureka Reporter on Friday to discuss a second news release, issued Thursday, outlining his concerns about the investigation and his belief that his clients are not guilty of the charges filed against them.

In all, the Malcolms and alleged accomplice Roger Zampatti face 126 felony charges of animal cruelty, and one additional charge each stemming from the discovery by Trinity County law enforcement officials of two marijuana plants found at the former residence of Roberta Bugenig, who originally owned the animals.

Since Aug. 17, when Gray issued his first statement on behalf of the Malcolms, the defense attorney has maintained that Zampatti assumed responsibility for the care of the former Bugenig dogs sometime in June.

As for the marijuana plants, Gray said, John has a medical marijuana card which entitles him to legally grow up to 12 plants. “He’s way under that,” Gray said.

Gray and Stacy also disputed some of the details of the case that have appeared in the media.

For example, it was reported that the dogs’ water was filled with algae and mosquito larvae. But both said that the green water found in bathtubs inside some of the kennels was never intended for drinking.

“The tubs were there so the dogs could jump in and cool off,” Gray said. Drinking water was provided to the dogs in 5-gallon buckets, which Gray said Stacy cleaned regularly during the time that she cared for the animals.

“The buckets were attached to the fences so the water couldn’t fall over,” Gray said. “This was an elaborate thing. It was not just throw a little water in there, throw a little food, and then leave.”

In his written statement, Gray also said that there were never more than 40 dogs on the property — although that number has been challenged by other sources.

When Bugenig left Bridgeville in Humboldt County and moved to the property a few miles across the Trinity County line, deputies and animal control officers from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office documented at least 62 dogs in her possession.

Additionally, Trinity County Deputy District Attorney Eric Heryford has filed one charge against each of the three suspects for each animal, found dead or alive, at the former Bugenig residence and at two known sites where dead dogs, which investigators believe they can trace back to the residence, were found. Heryford has filed charges for 42 dogs.

While it may never be known how many dogs lived and died at the property, Gray called the opinion of Shannon Miranda, owner and operator of Miranda’s Animal Rescue in Fortuna, that there may have been as many as 100 dogs at one time “speculation.”

Whatever the number, Stacy agreed it was too high. “I told (Trinity County Animal Control Officer) Christine Edwards I was finding homes for the dogs, because I didn’t like it any more than she did about the dogs being in the kennels, and there were way too many dogs, and they needed to be worked because of the kind of dogs they are,” Stacy said.

“It was hard to find homes for them, but I wanted to get them out of the kennels. They did not belong in those kennels.”

Heryford has filed charges for 16 dead dogs found at the dump sites, 13 dogs found alive at the residence Aug. 11 and the remains of 13 additional dead dogs investigators found at the residence.

The Malcolms and Zampatti are scheduled to appear in Trinity County Superior Court on Sept. 13, when a date will be set for a preliminary hearing. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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