Alleged puppy mill operator faces animal cruelty charges for 2nd time
BRUCE ASATO / MAY 21
An investigator from the Hawaiiane Humane Society carries a dog in a towel taken from a home on Mahakea Road.
An Oahu grand jury indicted a 68 year-old Kahaluu man Tuesday for allegedly mistreating dogs in a puppy mill at his home in May.
It’s not the first time James Montgomery has faced animal cruelty charges in connection with an alleged puppy mill. Montgomery was charged with 55 counts of animal cruelty 10 years ago and was fined $5,500.
His arrest Tuesday at his home followed his indictment on first-degree and second-degree animal cruelty. He posted bail of $25,000.
The Prosecutor’s Office said that second-degree animal cruelty is typically a misdemeanor, but becomes a Class C felony if the offense involves 10 or more animals.
Montgomery, a former Kaiser High School teacher, is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Circuit Court.
Officers initially arrested him for suspicion of animal cruelty May 21 after police and the Humane Society raided his Mahakea Road home. He was released pending investigation.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
Police had been called several times in May by Montgomery’s daughter and a neighbor who complained about the conditions of the animals. Thirty-three dogs were seized in May. Two dogs were found in a trash can. One had been shot dead and the other was emaciated and anemic.
Montgomery housed the dogs and puppies in an underground bunker.
The Human Society reported there was no lighting in the bunker and that dogs were raised in the dark in cages with wire bottoms, allowing urine and feces to fall through. The bunker had no ventilation, and the animals were kept without food or water. The dogs are now in foster care.
In a previous animal cruelty case in 2005, 64 dogs and puppies were taken away from Montgomery.
Under a plea agreement in 2006, Montgomery was granted a deferred acceptance of a guilty plea which allowed the conviction to be removed from his record. The confiscated animals were returned to him after the case ended and he was allowed to sell the animals.
17 responses to “Alleged puppy mill operator faces animal cruelty charges for 2nd time”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Sounds like he didn’t learn his lesson. So, his daughter had to intervene this time? Maybe the man doesn’t have all his marbles.
I’m thinking the latter.
Its hard to comment on this, because it so utterly infuriating. How do you begin to describe a lowlife like this guy. Indescribable worthlessness. A lifetime sentence would be too easy, when’s the death penalty coming to Hawaii, because it certainly applies here.
They need to send him to prison under the sane condition that he treated the animals he might learn something.
Get serious with this guy and after jail stint no more ownership of animals as terms of probation. Treat him as he did the animals.
Oh FGS. Get this guy out of society and away from dogs.
Wow. Fined $5,5000? That is some weird type of fine.
to me seems like it’s all about da kala
55 counts of animal cruelty, $5,500 fine ($100 for each count and then they return the animals. Something was very wrong with that decision. No more animals for this guy! And he should serve out his sentence in a cage in the underground bunker. There must be a sentence involving more than a minor fine in this case. Of course, this all depends on him being convicted.
I bet he neva teach biology.
Ban this creature from ever owning animals again and this time around, NO deferred acceptance of a guilt plea . No deals. He obviously hasn’t learned his lesson from 2006.
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/01/11/news/story12.html
In a bunker, with no lights and ventilation , no food and water? Is he experimenting what it takes to starve to death ….? He is sick! No normal person, and an educated one at that, would do such a bad thing! Since this is the second time around he should be confined in a mental institution indefinitely!
STOP allowing plea agreements to remove convictions for criminal records.
Correction: Stop removing convictions from criminal records.
The City needs to change the ordinances allowing people to keep up to 10 adult dogs and unlimited number of puppies at their home. If this guy had some kind of license or permit to have more, who gave it to him?
Put him in a cage without light and water and food and see how he likes it.
Yes his punishment should be put him in an underground bunker with hard wire bottom, no regular food/water/air for him for days/weeks at a time, and see how he likes it. This cruel person will be punished by God.