NJ Dog Owner Prosecuted and Convicted of Animal Cruelty
September 2009
In June 2009, Nutley Police observed a vehicle and its occupant park on River Road in Nutley and then leave the area. A Pug dog was then found abandoned at that location. The owner of the vehicle, Mr. Long Pham of Kearny, when questioned by Kearny Police, reported that some unidentified person must have stolen his dog from inside his locked Kearny home, and had also stolen his SUV from the driveway of his home, and the thief may have abandoned his dog in Nutley, thus returning the SUV to Mr. Pham's driveway while he was at in his Kearny delicatessen and liquor store. Mr. Long Pham did not report his vehicle stolen to Kearny Police. The dog was removed to the Montclair Animal Shelter and held for NJSPCA investigation. As a result of a criminal investigation, Mr. Long Pham was charged with 8 counts of animal cruelty.
Nutley Police Sergeant Faeder also charged Long Pham with violations. In September 2009, at the time of trial, and in his defense, Mr.Long Pham produced a time-lapse DVD proving that he was at his Kearny deli and liquor store at the time of the animal abandonment. He also produced his son, Mr.Hung Pham, who openly admitted to taking of the dog from the home, taking the vehicle from the driveway, abandoning the dog in Nutley, and returning the vehicle to the driveway.
The animal cruelty charges against Mr. Long Pham were dismissed by Nutley Municipal Court Judge Viola and the summonses were amended, with the assistance of Nutley Municipal Prosecutor Allen Genitempo, to charge Mr.Hung Pham with animal abandonment and sustenance violations.
Mr.Hung Pham pleads guilty to 3 counts of animal cruelty and was fined $1500, with $1000 in restitutions to the Montclair Animal Shelter, and $500 in restitution to the NJSPCA. Mr. Hung Pham was also assessed 15 days of NJSPCA community service and a long term NJSPCA "Check Welfare" decree was ordered by Judge Viola.
The reason given for the removal and abandonment of his father's dog, by defendant Mr.Hung Pham, who resides with his family and the dog, was due to an allergy he suffers from, caused by contact with animals. The dog was released to its owner after more than two months of confinement in the shelter.