Charges have been dismissed against a Jadwin man who in August of 2017 was charged with recklessly and purposely releasing hogs in Dent County, according to a press release from prosecuting attorney Andrew Curley sent to The Salem News Sunday.
The charges against Michael Bennett were dismissed Thursday by Curley.
“I originally filed the charge because the probable cause statement indicated there wasn’t any evidence to believe the pigs were ever placed in the pen,” Curley said in the release. “This led me to believe the agent had fully inspected the pen and had sufficient evidence to believe the hogs were never placed in the pen but released directly into the wild by Michael Bennett.
“Following the (Sept. 26, 2018) deposition, my understanding of the case changed drastically, and I believe it would be impossible to convince 12 jurors the defendant was guilty of this crime. A jury would likely see this as an accidental escape.”
Missouri Statute 270.260 makes it a crime for a person to recklessly or knowingly release any swine to live in a wild or feral state. The statute also indicates it shall not be construed to criminalize the accidental escape of domestic swine.
Bennett was originally charged with multiple counts for the knowing or reckless release of swine for events occurring in August of last year as a result of a probable cause statement submitted by a conservation agent to Curley. According to the agent’s probable cause report, two feral hogs were killed on private property in Shannon County Sept. 2, 2017. Agents with MDC responded to the scene and discovered each swine weighed at least 100 pounds and was tagged with USDA Brite Tags in their ears.
The tags were traced to the Summersville Stockyard in Shannon County. A search warrant executed at the stockyard Sept. 29, 2017, obtained sale records identifying Bennett as the purchaser of the two hogs in question, as well as five others. The probable cause statement identified Bennett as a “known hog hunter.” The agent went to Bennett’s home to speak with him about the pigs. Bennett indicated he purchased the hogs, and they escaped from “a rinky-dink pen,” according to the probable cause report.
The agent inspected the pen and indicated in the report “there was nothing present within the pen to suggest it had ever held hogs,” and it appeared more likely to have been built to hold dogs.
The case was scheduled for a two-day trial beginning today (Tuesday). A deposition of the conservation agent was taken by defense counsel Jason Coatney and Curley Sept. 26 in anticipation of trial. On Oct. 1, and as a result of the deposition, the state requested a continuance from the trial to obtain the transcript and review the testimony prior to the trial date to research the legal issues presented. The motion to continue was argued Thursday and was denied by Dent County Associate Court Judge Brandi Baird.
Curley wrote in Sunday’s release that he dismissed the charge at that time and announced the possibility of re-filing the case after he thoroughly reviewed the transcript of the deposition, which was received Oct. 8.
In the press release to The Salem News, Curley said he would not be re-filing the charges against Bennett due to what he learned at the deposition. In making his decision he provided the following testimony from the deposition of the MDC agent:
Did you look in the pen for the purposes of seeing whether he placed the pigs in the pen?
Agent: For the expressed purpose to see if hogs had ever been in that pen, I did not inspect it.
So, do you believe that it wasn't an accidental escape?
Agent: I don't know.
So, you're not going to go tell the jury that he knowingly released the swine?
Agent: I can't say that he did that.
And you don't have any evidence to support that he did?
Agent: I don't.
And you're not going to go tell the jury that he recklessly released the swine into the public?
Agent: I can't say that he did that.
Are you going to tell this jury he brought the hogs home knowing they would get out in hopes of having hogs to hunt closer to home?
No.
Curley also wrote in the press release that the investigation revealed that Bennett already had pig hunting opportunities available to him within a few miles of his home at his employer’s property.
“It would be difficult to establish a motive for this reason,” Curley said. “In addition, the statute is poorly written. In one provision it attempts to criminalize reckless behavior, but then prevents actual prosecution of the accidental escape of domestic swine.
“I knew this was a controversial issue when it landed on my desk. I have met with multiple people on both sides of this issue, including conservation advocates, farmers, hunters and many others. Farmers and conservation people despise feral hogs and for good reason. There is one thing we all can agree on. You need to be careful and diligent when you purchase and confine live pigs. They are difficult to confine and once in the wild, they breed rapidly and can cause damage to our ecosystem.”
