Koser Gets Community Service In Animal Cruelty Case
October 6, 2020 at 11:04 p.m.
By Amanda [email protected]
In June 2019, Clase reported to Koser’s Etna Green home in reference to a suffering dog in a garage. Clase was permitted by the home’s landlord – Sherri Shafer – to enter the garage, where Clase then shot the animal because he deemed it was suffering.
Koser was at work at the time and came home to find Daisy, the dog, missing, she said. Clase, who had been the county’s animal control officer for 32 years, retired after the incident led to protests. Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Hampton cleared Clase of any criminal wrongdoing.
An arrest warrant was issued for Koser to face a Class A misdemeanor charge for animal cruelty instead.
Koser, while never participating in any of the protests herself, has always denied her dog was suffering and claimed she was seeking veterinary care for the animal.
Koser was scheduled to take it to a bench trial in front of Kosciusko Superior Court II Judge Torrey Bauer last Thursday, but instead entered into a pretrial diversion agreement, where she’ll have to serve 40 hours of community service and pay a fine. In that signed agreement, Koser does not admit guilt to the animal cruelty/neglect charge, but rather agrees to comply with the terms of the agreement, according to the court document.
On Tuesday, Koser told the Times-Union her last-minute change to take it to trial was because she’s tired of dealing with the case and it’s stressing her out.
“I’ve been really depressed dealing with this,” Koser said. “You know, it’s wrong. It’s really wrong that I even have to sign a plea agreement, because I didn’t do anything wrong, so why am I being punished? I just don’t understand.”
Koser was upset that she is required to perform community service, that the courts used her bail bond money to pay fees and that she has to pay for her public defender. She claims she has a lawyer out of Indianapolis who is going to sue Kosciusko County, Clase and Shafer, although no such court records exist.
“They just wouldn’t leave me alone,” Koser said. “And I’m tired of dealing with it.”
After the incident, the county moved to make a new animal control position under the direction of the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office. The new county animal control officer is KCSO Deputy Jeff Clark.
In June 2019, Clase reported to Koser’s Etna Green home in reference to a suffering dog in a garage. Clase was permitted by the home’s landlord – Sherri Shafer – to enter the garage, where Clase then shot the animal because he deemed it was suffering.
Koser was at work at the time and came home to find Daisy, the dog, missing, she said. Clase, who had been the county’s animal control officer for 32 years, retired after the incident led to protests. Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Hampton cleared Clase of any criminal wrongdoing.
An arrest warrant was issued for Koser to face a Class A misdemeanor charge for animal cruelty instead.
Koser, while never participating in any of the protests herself, has always denied her dog was suffering and claimed she was seeking veterinary care for the animal.
Koser was scheduled to take it to a bench trial in front of Kosciusko Superior Court II Judge Torrey Bauer last Thursday, but instead entered into a pretrial diversion agreement, where she’ll have to serve 40 hours of community service and pay a fine. In that signed agreement, Koser does not admit guilt to the animal cruelty/neglect charge, but rather agrees to comply with the terms of the agreement, according to the court document.
On Tuesday, Koser told the Times-Union her last-minute change to take it to trial was because she’s tired of dealing with the case and it’s stressing her out.
“I’ve been really depressed dealing with this,” Koser said. “You know, it’s wrong. It’s really wrong that I even have to sign a plea agreement, because I didn’t do anything wrong, so why am I being punished? I just don’t understand.”
Koser was upset that she is required to perform community service, that the courts used her bail bond money to pay fees and that she has to pay for her public defender. She claims she has a lawyer out of Indianapolis who is going to sue Kosciusko County, Clase and Shafer, although no such court records exist.
“They just wouldn’t leave me alone,” Koser said. “And I’m tired of dealing with it.”
After the incident, the county moved to make a new animal control position under the direction of the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office. The new county animal control officer is KCSO Deputy Jeff Clark.
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