A man who was spotted dragging his XL bully along while riding an electric scooter has been jailed for 19 months after he was convicted of inflicting serious injuries to the canine.
Lucas Slim-Fitzpatrick was prosecuted by the RSPCA after the tan and white 10-month old bulldog called Luna was assaulted and neglected by the defendant in Plymouth between June and December 2022.
A vet who examined Luna said the dog had suffered blunt force trauma injuries in at least three separate incidents. Ring Doorbell footage which captured Slim-Fitzpatrick on the scooter just before one of the assaults helped launch the prosecution.
Slim-Fitzpatrick (D.o.B 6/11/1996), of Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 at an earlier hearing on September 18 and was committed to Bristol Crown Court where he was sentenced on December 7.
A judge said he had shown little remorse for his actions and told him: “This was prolonged, lengthy violence towards an animal in your care who should have been protected by you rather than becoming your punchbag.”
He handed Slim-Fitzpatrick 14-month custodial sentences to run concurrently on each of the three animal welfare offences and a further five-month prison sentence, to be served consecutively, for his breach of a suspended sentence imposed for an unrelated matter. The judge also banned the defendant from owning animals for 20 years,
The RSPCA was presented with the doorbell footage which showed the defendant riding his electric scooter along a service road in the Mutley district of Plymouth, while holding the lead of the dog who was trying to follow behind on the morning of November 30 last year.
A witness who contacted the police said he heard an animal in distress at the back of Slim-Fitzpatrick’s former address in Greenbank Road in Plymouth minutes later.
The court was told the witness saw the defendant “staggering around” on the scooter, talking aggressively to the dog before picking her up with both hands and throwing her six feet in the direction of a wall.
Slim-Fitzpatrick was later arrested and Luna, who was found limping and unable to bear weight on one of her back legs, was taken to a vets, where an examination found her left hip and pelvis were broken. She had suffered fractures to her jaw and cheek bone as well as her wrists. While she also had three broken ribs, three broken teeth and a badly bloodshot eye.
When he was interviewed by police in December 2022, the defendant claimed Luna’s injuries were caused by being struck by a car and kicked by a horse. He said her bloodshot eye was the result of her being attacked by a Jack Russell dog.
But RSPCA prosecutor Gregory Gordon told the court: “Expert veterinary evidence disproved the defendant’s various claims of accidental injury to Luna. For example, if she had been struck by a vehicle, there would have been evidence of skin abrasions or lacerations, and grit or oil in her hair.
“Radiographs indicated Luna’s different fractures were at different stages of healing, meaning that the injuries occurred on different dates. It has not been possible to identify the number of separate incidents from the injuries alone, but records indicate that injuries were sustained by Luna on at least three separate occasions, including June 29 and August 2 last year.”
Slim-Fitzpatrick was in contact with vets on both these occasions. But in June he declined the recommendation Luna undergo surgery for her wrist fractures, citing the cost, then he failed to attend appointments for the rebandaging of her wounds and used a pencil and sock as a homemade splint. In August he phoned the vet to report Luna was eating painfully, but then failed to keep an appointment.
When RSPCA Inspector Miranda Albison attempted to make contact with the defendant in March and July this year to interview him about the allegations, he claimed he did not have a fixed address, but that he was staying with a friend in Birmingham.
In a statement read to the court, the inspector said: “The defendant said he was aware the RSPCA had been visiting his address, but that he was not prepared to be interviewed. I told him Luna was still in our care as he had not responded to my request to confirm we could rehome her. He became angry and said he thought he had already given permission and the dog was no longer anything to do with him.”
In mitigation, the court was told Slim-Fitzpatrick had experienced a troubled background and had spent time in the care system.
Luna was signed over to the RSPCA on July 5this year and has recovered from her ordeal in the care of the animal charity. She has been rehomed after undergoing surgery and extensive rehabilitation work to regain the use of her back leg.
Speaking after the sentencing, inspector Albison said: “The assaults carried out by this defendant on this poor dog started when she was a 10-week old puppy and continued until she was 10 months old. It was absolutely horrific as she was repeatedly beaten and suffered many fractures.
“Luna had surgery on her femoral head and that saved her back leg as the other option was amputation. Happily she is now doing very well and we have been able to rehome her.
“Without being provided with the Ring Doorbell footage by a member of the public we wouldn’t have been able to prosecute the defendant as he denied being in that area of Plymouth at the time of the assault allegation.”
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