Witnesses testified Oct. 9 that about two years in the past, they noticed a Dover man shoot a bouncy Labrador retriever in Oak Orchard.
“He shot him point blank,” stated Brooke Lloyd, a resident of Oak Orchard, testifying in Sussex County Superior Court in Georgetown.
Lloyd was the second of two witnesses who described seeing Herbert Manley shoot the Labrador named Tank.
The first witness, Charles Hurt, additionally of Oak Orchard, stated he watched the taking pictures from his home that day.
In opening statements, protection legal professional Scott Wilson had a unique account of what occurred. He stated the canine menaced Manley and his fiancée as they walked alongside the street close to his home.
“He came at them not once, not twice, but a third time,” Wilson stated. “At that point, he charged Mr. Manley, teeth bared.”
Manley was first charged in May 2021 with felony cruelly or unnecessarily killing an animal after he shot the chocolate Labrador retriever that later died in a Salisbury, Md., animal hospital emergency room. In January 2022, two extra felony expenses have been added – possession of a firearm through the fee of a felony and first-degree reckless endangering. Manley turned in his gun to the Delaware State Police, which has held it as proof. He has been out of jail on his personal recognizance, and he rejected a plea deal provide in November 2022.
Witnesses and courtroom paperwork state that Manley was within the space of Delaware and Oak Orchard avenues at 8:50 p.m., May 31, 2021, and had walked up and down Oak Orchard Avenue a number of instances earlier than he shot the canine.
Manley advised an officer with the Office of Animal Welfare that the canine charged at him and was foaming on the mouth, data state.
“Herbert felt threaten[ed] and felt if he did not shoot the dog it would have jumped up on him. He shot one round at the dog’s head. He said he did not want to kill the dog, just injure it to protect himself,” courtroom paperwork state.
Witnesses to the taking pictures stated the canine was not aggressive and did nothing to impress the taking pictures.
In a earlier interview, Oak Orchard resident Charles Drummond stated there was some commotion within the space about 8 p.m. when the canine received out of his yard. Drummond stated Manley was within the space taking a look at a home, and Manley had walked up and down the road thrice earlier than taking out a gun and taking pictures the canine.
“The dog was on his [own] property, and he was backing up,” Drummond stated.
The canine’s proprietor, Jim Sekcienski, stated he heard a pop, then somebody stated his canine had been shot.
“I went up to him face-to-face,” he stated. “He was still holding his gun, and he said Tank was trying to bite him.”
Court officers count on the trial will final till Thursday, Oct. 12.
