FLOYD BOUDREAUX

[Guest pikey]

LAFAYETTE — A state district judge Wednesday acquitted a father and son accused of multiple counts of dogfighting without even having to hear the defense present its case.

 

Floyd J. Boudreaux, 74, and his son, Guy Boudreaux, 44, each faced 48 counts of dogfighting stemming from their March 2005 arrest.

 

Their trial began Monday and ended abruptly Wednesday after Jason Robideaux, who represented the Boudreauxes, asked for the judge to acquit the two men after the state rested its case.

 

The defense waived its right to a jury trial and chose to leave the decision in the hands of District Judge Kristian Earles.

 

One of the benefits of waiving the jury is that the defense can ask for an acquittal after the state rests its case.

 

Robideaux used that option Wednesday, and Earles granted the motion citing a lack of evidence to convict the two.

 

An emotional Guy Boudreaux stood shortly afterward and held his hands over his face.

 

When he removed them, he began to cry.

 

Soon after, friends and family members began to crowd into the small courtroom, hugging the two men and rejoicing.

 

“It’s been a nightmare,†Guy Boudreaux said of the last 3‰ years.

 

Guy Boudreaux said he is a single parent and often worried about his future and what would happen to his son.

 

Floyd Boudreaux said he felt justice had been served and that he was thankful that the justice system worked after all. He said he looked forward to returning to a normal life.

 

“When you’re right, you’re strong and when you’re wrong, you’re weak,†he said.

 

The two men then turned their attention to the agencies responsible for their arrest and for the killing of more than 50 of their pit bulldogs, including one that was pregnant and another named Girlfriend that belonged to Guy Boudreaux’s son.

 

Girlfriend was a house dog that happened to be outside when State Police executed a search warrant at their home.

 

All of the pit bulldogs were seized, examined by a veterinarian and then euthanized by the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, including Girlfriend.

 

During the proceedings, Robideaux blasted that agency for its actions.

 

“I believe the state’s purpose was to seize the dogs and kill the Boudreaux’s dogs to end the bloodline,†Robideaux said. “I don’t want to speculate on the reasons.â€

 

Prosecutor Ronald Dauterive dismissed that claim and said Robideaux was going out on a limb.

 

After the acquittal, Dauterive quickly left the courtroom and declined to offer a comment.

 

It ended a day that had not gone well for the prosecution.

 

The state’s last witness was Kathy Strouse, superintendent for animal control in Chesapeake, Va.

 

Dauterive asked the court to allow Strouse to testify as an expert witness.

 

Strouse was involved in the Michael Vick dogfighting trial last year and won awards for her work in the case.

 

Vick was a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons before his 2007 arrest and subsequent 23-month prison sentence.

 

Earles denied his request citing, among other things, her lack of a formal education and the fact that she had only been an expert witness once before in Virginia on a case that she had worked.

 

Earles also raised an issue with her connection to the Humane Society, which paid her to testify in the case.

 

Dauterive asked for a stay in the case while the state sought an appeal from the Third Circuit Court of Appeal.

 

Earles denied that request, too.

 

In asking for the acquittal, Robideaux cited a lack of evidence of dogfighting and a lack of witnesses who had ever seen the Boudreauxs conduct or attend a dogfight prior to 1982 when the blood-sport was outlawed.

 

In response, Dauterive argued that Boudreaux’s dogs had a 200-year bloodline and that the evidence, when taken together as a whole, clearly demonstrated that the Boudreauxs were breeding dogs for dogfighting.

 

Earles disagreed.

 

“The state has to come forward with some proof,†he said.

 

Afterward, Robideaux said he was pleased with the verdict and hinted of things to come.

 

“SPCA’s killing of the Boudreaux’s dogs, in my opinion, was illegal,†and against the wishes of the State Police, which handed over custody of the dogs to the agency. The state trooper who investigated the case said he thought the agency would house the animals and did not know about its plans to euthanize them.

 

Kathryn Destreza, with the Louisiana SPCA, was called as a witness earlier Wednesday.

 

Destreza, who was involved in the seizure of the animals, said she did not believe any one person ordered the animals to be euthanized but rather that it had been assumed by everyone within the agency that they would be. She said state law allowed the agency to euthanize the animals.

 

Robideaux said he will now refer the Boudreauxs to a civil lawyer so the two can examine the possibility of filing a malicious prosecution claim, aimed not at the district attorney’s office but rather those who filed the complaint and those who participated in the seizure and euthanizing of their dogs.

 

He declined to offer any other specifics.

 

The Boudreauxs said the SPCA killed at least 19 dogs that were 1 year old or younger.

 

“They immediately started killing those dogs when they got to New Orleans,†Floyd Boudreaux said.

 

Larry Mouton, a long-time family friend, stood by and listened and then added.

 

“They didn’t just destroy dogs, they destroyed a man,†he said

[Stabs 3]

Great news about the aquittal but an absolute tragedy about the dogs.

 

Let's hope someone is help accountable for those dogs being destroyed

[swamper 11]

to wipe out a great mans life's work ....then try and walk away from it...disgusting !!

[Bosun11 537]

Great news about the aquittal but an absolute tragedy about the dogs.

 

Let's hope someone is help accountable for those dogs being destroyed

 

Can't better that Stabs but i'll deffo second it!

[val 0]

hope he takes them to the cleaners

Edited October 18, 2008 by val

[bird 9,973]

Great news about the aquittal but an absolute tragedy about the dogs.

 

Let's hope someone is help accountable for those dogs being destroyed

 

 

Spot on. They will never rest till all Pit Bulls are gone , a waste of good dogs and Great Breed . WANKERS

 

BIRD