Anna Lee

zlee@greenvillenews.com

His back turned to those who rescued the dog prosecutors said was left to die, Roger Dennis Owens received the state's maximum penalty for animal cruelty Tuesday after pleading guilty to his charges.

(photo left: current photo of Andra Grace)

Circuit Judge Letitia Verdin sentenced Owens to five years in prison for ill treatment of animals and another five years, six months for habitual traffic offenses.

"This is one of the cruelest things that I've seen since I've been on the bench," Verdin said.

Prosecutors told the judge that Owens dragged a pit bull mix behind his truck for at least two miles in Marietta on Nov. 29 and kept going after witnesses tried to get him to stop.

Witnesses also reported seeing the dog tied to an open truck bed with her front paws on the gate while her hind legs were dragged across the road, said Assistant Solicitor Julie Anders. The dog was running, trying to keep up with the truck that was being driven at a high rate of speed, Anders said.

Two witnesses pursued Owens, following a trail of blood on the road until they found the dog, abandoned, with severe injuries. Anders said.

The dog was taken to the Upstate Veterinary clinic wrapped in bloody blankets, her bones and tendons exposed, Cynthia Sarachino told the judge. She is an animal rescue volunteer who was at the clinic when Andra Grace came in.

"She was and is an innocent, good and gentle creature that did not deserve this heinous act," Sarachino said.

Owens' attorney, public defender Elizabeth Powers Price, said her client has cared for dogs his whole life but had been drinking that November day.

"He was not in his right mind," Price said. "He has a drinking problem."

She told the judge that Owens, an auto mechanic since age 14, panicked after realizing what had happened and left the dog on the road. She also asked that Owens receive a total of five years for his charges after serving 210 days in jail.

Owens was charged with two counts of being a habitual traffic offender, a felony offense punishable by five years, and driving under suspension when he was taken into custody.

Prosecutors said Owens has been arrested eight times for driving under suspension since 1986 and three times for driving under the influence.

Verdin had little remorse to show the defendant.

"About the best defense you can put up about what you did on that day was that you were driving drunk," she said. "It's just horrible."