The Maricopa County Attorney's Office touted its latest victory in the ongoing fight against animal cruelty: the arrest of Lester Paul Richmond in Troy, Alabama.

Police arrested Richmond, 36, on Feb. 16 on a Maricopa County arrest warrant for a single-county felony animal cruelty charge. He was charged with killing a husky puppy by taping its mouth shut and is being held in an Alabama prison on $20,000 bail. The dog's body was found in a Scottsdale alley in June.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a Feb. 21 press release: thanked law enforcement He was condemned in two states for his efforts to take Richmond.

“His extradition is expected to occur within the next 30 days. Once he is in Maricopa County, we can move forward with prosecution,” Mitchell added.

That's why Mitchell opposes all extradition, even though he had a social media spat last week with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over suspected serial killer Raad al-Mansouri. Do not mean. Mr. Bragg wants Mr. Al-Mansoori extradited to New York City to face charges of killing a woman in New York City on February 8th.

Mitchell answered “no,” which caused an uproar and attracted media attention.

“The normal practice is for the custodial jurisdiction to proceed first,” Mitchell's spokeswoman Jeanine Lequier later told Phoenix New Times.

The Feb. 21 press release was the second from Mitchell's office in Richmond. case. It was first announced on December 20th. Richmond's accusation and asked for the public's help in finding him.

Not every arrest or indictment results in a press release, much less two. According to the prefectural prosecutor, “data dashboard”, 47,027 cases were sent to authorities for review in 2023. Approximately 56% of these cases, or 26,230 cases, resulted in litigation.

“There are cases in Maricopa County. Animal abuse often includes other crimes as well. To give you some numbers, in 2020 there were 34 incidents. In 2021, there were 38 cases, and in 2022, there are 44 cases so far. ” Mitchell said at a press conference. In August 2022.

The number of animal abuse cases filed in 2023 was not immediately available when asked recently by the county attorney's office. Based on past years, that total will probably be well under 1% of all cases filed in 2023.

Given the low number of animal cruelty cases filed, it was revealed that Mitchell's office had investigators looking for suspects in puppy killings. In fact, in a Feb. 21 press release, Mitchell credited Heather Crim, an animal abuse detective in his office, with tracking Richmond down.

Mitchell, who is running for re-election this year, has made cracking down on animal abuse, particularly cases involving dogs, America's most popular pets, a priority for his office. According to Forbes magazine. She threw a book at dog abusers, supported a bill to strengthen Arizona's animal cruelty laws, and took a photo opportunity with a rescue dog at the Arizona Humane Society.

That's smart politics, no doubt. A public relations guru said this when analyzing Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's use of her dog Bailey in her campaign.Everyone loves dogs.Humanizes the candidate, so to speak.. ”

Watch local TV news broadcasts. Almost every night he has at least one dog story. If it's a slow news day, there might be two.

Playing the dog card is smart politics. Just ask former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Follow in Sheriff Joe's footsteps

Arpaio, one of the most prominent, divisive and worst politicians in Arizona history, knew that dog talk was pure gold. He famously converted one of his prisons into a no-kill animal shelter. Prisoners taking care of dogs.and he used to brag feed dogs better than inmates.

He also pursued a controversial dog abuse case and milked it for publicity. These include a campaign to save the life of a pit bull that hit a child in the head, charges and arrest of a Chandler police sergeant in the accidental death of a K-9 police dog, and charges against former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake's son. Includes follow-up. While the couple were temporary caretakers at a dog boarding facility in Gilbert, several of their dogs died in an accident, and their son's wife died.

Mitchell is no Arpaio. Arpaio's 24-year record of media manipulation and self-aggrandizement will be difficult to break. But Mitchell is in the same vein of canophilia as Arpaio and many other politicians.

At a press conference in August 2022, Mitchell announced that he has taken the gloves off when it comes to animal cruelty. She said animal abuse is a “gateway crime” to serious crimes involving humans, including sexual assault, domestic violence and “violent and non-violent assaults.”

Ms Mitchell said she was hiring “specialist investigators” to assist in prosecuting such crimes. The department already has a prosecutor who specializes in animal abuse cases.

“Whether it's keeping dangerous sex offenders out of our neighborhoods, drug dealers out of our schools, or calling out animal abuse, I won't turn a blind eye,” she said.

puppy politics

On January 10, a Maricopa County grand jury announced that April McLaughlin had been charged with 24 charges, eight of them felonies, for abusing 55 dogs at her home in Chandler. accelerated further. This was in addition to the 77 misdemeanors McLaughlin already faces in Chandler Municipal Court.

January 16th, Mr. Mitchell participates in a press event Several dogs rescued from McLaughlin were on hand at the Arizona Humane Society. Mitchell expressed his support for his two bills: Senate Bill 1047sponsored by Republican State Sen. TJ Schopf, and House Bill 2076sponsored by Republican state Rep. Barbara Parker.

SB 1047 would amend the state's animal cruelty law, expanding the definition of “cruel neglect” of an animal from denying the animal food, water, and shelter to providing daily, species-appropriate animal food, drinking water, and more. This will extend to the denial of suitable water. and “necessary and sufficient” shelter.

HB 2076 allows law enforcement to treat animal abuse as a form of domestic violence in some cases.

Although the law applies to all species, dogs were the focus of the humane group's press conference, with a giant photo of a puppy behind a podium and a disabled dog walking around.

Mitchell said the bill would remove ambiguity in the law and help prosecutors be more successful.

The county attorney then bent down to pet a dog being dragged around in a bassinet and said the bill needed to be passed “for dogs like Billy.”

“If you're watching this on HDTV, yes, I have (dog) hair on me,” she added.

The Senate approved SB1047 on Thursday by a vote of 17-11. It now goes to the House of Commons for consideration. Also on Thursday, HB 2076 easily passed the House on a 55-2 vote and moved to the Senate.

in Mitchell's office earlier this year in January. Indictment of former criminal Ruben Lupe Garza announced Animal cruelty and illegal acts with weapons. He is accused of fatally shooting a neighbor's dog on Jan. 7 in southwest Phoenix.

As a Jan. 24 press release about the incident indicated, Garza did not kill the animal, but the dog “will likely have its legs amputated.”

Safe to say, this won't be the last time we hear of shaggy dogs coming out of Mr. Mitchell's office this election year.