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August 11, 2022
Man beats his dog ... and gets 25 years in a Texas prison!?!
I just saw a discussion of what sound like a remarkable local sentencing case out of Texas. This local story, headlined "San Antonio man handed one of Texas' longest ever animal abuse prison sentences," provides these basics:
A San Antonio man is headed to prison on one of the longest sentences for animal abuse in Texas History.
Animal Care Services said that Frank Javier Fonseca was sentenced to 25 years in prison on animal abuse charges for a violent beating of his puppy, which was captured on video. He was sentenced in June and has previous felony convictions that include drug possession and crimes of retaliation, according to an ACS news release.
The video was captured in February 2019, showing Fonseca repeatedly hitting his young Rottweiler puppy named Buddy with his fists and a piece of wood, as well as kicking and choking the dog. ACS said the video was recorded by "an anonymous Good Samaritan." Court records show Fonesca was arrested in September 2021.
The 56-year-old San Antonio man told ACS that he was disciplining the dog for leaving his yard on Fenfield Avenue. Buddy survived the abusive attack and is now living with a new adoptive family, officials said.
This new Reason commentary, authored by Billy Binion, rightly questions this outcome under this full headline: "A 25-Year Prison Sentence for Beating Up a Dog Is Not Justice: Frank Javier Fonseca's punishment, which may amount to a life sentence, is a microcosm for many of the issues with the U.S. criminal legal system."
A quick google search has not turned up much more information to justify or even fully explains what seems like a severe outcome, though I suppose I should never be too surprised by the lengthy sentences that can be and often are imposed under various habitual offender statutes.
August 11, 2022 at 08:58 AM | Permalink
Comments
The description makes it seem like a rather aggravated case of animal abuse.
The problem with discussing the sentence is not knowing the relevant Texas statutes. Does animal abuse in Texas have aggravating elements? What is the law on recidivist offenders? And what did that make the authorized range of punishment.
It is easy to say that twenty-five years seems excessive (even for the severity of the abuse), but there are people who think dogs are people and would think that treating animal abuse as similar to assault is perfectly fine. I disagree, but knowing the above information on how this sentence was on the table would point out what needs to be fixed to get a more "appropriate" sentencing range.
Posted by: tmm | Aug 11, 2022 10:29:03 AM
Based on the article, it seems like Fonseca likely was convicted of an offender under Tex. Pen. Code § 42.092(b)(1), which would be third-degree felony, § 42.092(c-1), punishable by a sentence of 2-10 years. Tex. Pen. Code § 12.34.
It seems then, that the Texas repeat and habitual offender law are what is driving the sentence, as you surmised. The Texas repeat and habitual offender code is fairly complicated. See Tex. Pen. Code § 12.42. But, I think that this is probably the applicable section:
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (c)(2) or (c)(4), if it is shown on the trial of a felony offense other than a state jail felony punishable under Section 12.35(a) that the defendant has previously been finally convicted of two felony offenses, and the second previous felony conviction is for an offense that occurred subsequent to the first previous conviction having become final, on conviction the defendant shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life, or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years. A previous conviction for a state jail felony punishable under Section 12.35(a) may not be used for enhancement purposes under this subsection.
Tex. Pen. Code § 12.42(d).
For that repeater section to come into play, Mr. Fonseca's previous offenses must have been third degree or higher felonies (punishable by 2-10 years).
But I could be wrong. I'm no expert on Texas sentencing law and the article is short on details.
Posted by: CBL | Aug 11, 2022 11:12:13 AM
If the defendant did that to a dog, I would be concerned what he would do to a person. So I don't think we have enough information to say this is or is not reasonable.
Posted by: William C Jockusch | Aug 12, 2022 9:49:58 AM
He was sentenced under the habitual statute. In the paralance of practitioners, he was "high bitched" which is what we call it when an aggressive DA turns a relatively minor felony into 25-Life.
Ridiculous outcome and just one more reason to take habitual crazy high mandatory minimum sentences out of the prosecution hands and give it back to the jury. At least then the community has a say in things.
Posted by: Zachary Newland | Aug 12, 2022 12:40:07 PM
He was sentenced under the habitual statute. In the paralance of practitioners, he was "high bitched" which is what we call it when an aggressive DA turns a relatively minor felony into 25-Life.
Ridiculous outcome and just one more reason to take habitual crazy high mandatory minimum sentences out of the prosecution hands and give it back to the jury. At least then the community has a say in things.
Posted by: Zachary Newland | Aug 12, 2022 12:40:07 PM
His sentence was more than justified. I witnessed in 1984 a man shoot a german shepherd dead while a young girl of 10 was walking it on a leash. He then tossed the dead dog into the back of his pickup which had 3 more dead dogs. That is true insanity so if this man got 25 years, I'm perfectly fine with that.
Posted by: Tina Tipton | Sep 1, 2022 7:06:04 AM
