A dog beater in Riverside got sentenced yesterday to three years of probation 90 days jail to be served on weekends, community service hours and anger management classes. Glynn Johnson of Riverside is a former Assistant Los Angeles County Fire Chief who was convicted of animal cruelty which apparently stemmed from a neighbor dispute over some noise problems.
Weekends in jail and anger management classes seem appropriate under the circumstances, however, it seems absurd to sentence a dog beater to community work with animals. Maybe the judge could have thought that item through a little more clearly.
In the end it appears that the judge seems to have balanced the defendants positive contributions to society with his disgusting conduct in this particular case. It is always difficult to make decisions in cases where there are heated emotional issues and/or high levels of public attention. I commend Judge Hanks for making what appear to be some very difficult decisions in this case.
If you have questions about your criminal case, feel free to contact me at (818) 783-5700 or vallenslaw@yahoo.com.