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Former
Mayoral candidate accused of killing seeing-eye dog
The ReporterOnline.com
| ANDREW
R. HICKEY, Staff Writer |
February
22, 2002 |
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LANSDALE
-- A legally blind man who ran for borough mayor in
November was arrested and arraigned Thursday on a
charge alleging he kicked to death his seeing-eye
dog, which had been his constant companion for about
four years.
Craig
Steven Miller, 41, seen here in March with Inky, is
accused of kicking his male black Labrador
retriever, Inky, causing fatal blunt-force trauma
and a ruptured spleen, an affidavit of probable
cause states. -- MARK C. PSORAS/FILE PHOTO
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Craig
Steven Miller, 41, is accused of kicking his male
black Labrador retriever, Inky, causing fatal
blunt-force trauma and a ruptured spleen, an
affidavit of probable cause states.
Borough officers responded to Miller's home at 712
Cypress St. at 3:10 a.m. Feb. 8 after someone from
the home dialed 9-1-1, but hung up, the affidavit
states.
Police found Miller in the garage attempting to
resuscitate Inky. He and the dog were bloodied, and
Inky had visible eye injuries, the affidavit
alleges.
Inky had no pulse, police said, and responding
officers determined he was dead. The dog was rushed
to a nearby animal hospital, but it was too late,
police said.
Miller, who was born with sight, but due to detached
retinas progressively lost his vision from age 18,
allegedly told police that he was walking home from
an area bar and Inky just ''stopped" and had to
be dragged a short distance home, the affidavit
notes.
Investigation of the area around Miller's home
uncovered blood stains and feces, which police said
belonged to the dog. Police said the feces was
located in an area where Inky did not typically go
to the bathroom.
An autopsy performed on Inky by Dr. Jenny Witthoff
of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals determined Inky had been killed by multiple
blunt-force trauma and a ruptured spleen, police
said.
A week after the incident, Miller told police that
he did kick Inky because he was angry and frustrated
and had been having trouble working with his guide
dog. Miller called Inky's death an ''accident,"
the affidavit alleges.
At Thursday's arraignment in front of Hatfield
District Justice Harold D. Borek, Miller was charged
with one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals,
namely a charge of ''killing, maiming or poisoning
domestic animals," police said. Police pursued
the charge with assistance from the Montgomery
County District Attorney's Office and the SPCA.
Miller faces a possible fine of not less than
$1,000, or no more than two years in prison, or
both, police said. If charged again with the same
offense, the charge would be bumped up from a
misdemeanor to a felony.
Miller was released on $5,000 unsecured bail with a
preliminary hearing tentatively set for 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, police said.
Three days after Inky's death, Miller's wife filed a
petition in Montgomery County Court for a
protection-from-abuse order against her husband. In
the order, Miller's wife outlined a history of
verbal and physical abuse, court records show.
According to the petition, filed Feb. 11 while
Miller was being evaluated in Building 50 on the
grounds of Norristown State Hospital, Miller's wife
wrote that Miller kicked his 8-year-old son in the
back of the knee during an argument and one time
picked him up by an arm and a leg and threw him from
their home's pool deck onto the ground below.
Miller is also accused of threatening to break his
son's arms ''if he breaks the kitchen TV remote
control," his wife alleges.
In other instances, Miller's wife said in the
petition, she was shoved against the wall by her
husband and he allegedly told her ''I want to kill
you" and ''I want to slit your throat."
The petition also notes that Miller has a history of
severe depression, which he refused to treat. That,
coupled with alleged drug and alcohol abuse,
Miller's wife wrote, frightens her and her children.
Miller, the Democratic challenger to longtime
Republican Mayor Michael DiNunzio, lost his bid in
the November election. A Chicago native, Miller
moved to the borough in 1994.
A hearing concerning the PFA order against Miller is
set for March 12 in Montgomery County Court. Until
then, the order restricts him from living in his
home or visiting with his children.
©Reporter
online.com 2002
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