A group of around 40 animal activists carried “Justice for Draco” protest signs in front of the Sherburne County Government Center Wednesday before a scheduled hearing for a Princeton man who is charged with felony animal cruelty after he allegedly video-taped himself beating and torturing a dog owned by his girlfriend.  The dog, named Draco, was later found dead in a ditch from a gunshot wound to the head.

 

Anthony R. Sather, 25, appeared before Judge Thomas Hayes for an omnibus hearing in Sherburne County District Court Wednesday afternoon.  The proceedings lasted only a few minutes, as Sather had elected to dispense with a public defender and had hired private consul in the case.  His new attorney asked the court for an extension of the hearing so that he could have more time to study further evidence in the matter, and the judge allowed a continuance until March 12.  In addition to the animal cruelty charge, Sather also faces two felony drug counts.

 

According to reports published at the time of his arraignment in early January, Andrea Godfrey had found the video of the alleged torture of her dog on Sather’s computer, which reportedly showed him repeatedly body-slamming the animal onto a concrete floor and beating and kicking the dog repeatedly.  She then turned the material over to police.  The article quoted Sherburne County Sheriff’s Dept. Captain Scott Fildes as saying that the video was “extremely difficult to watch.”

 

As Sather was led away by deputies, a man in the packed courtroom stood and shouted “Sather, you bottom feeder, there’s a special place in hell for you.”  As deputies removed that man from the courtroom, Judge Hayes said: “One more word from you, Sir, and you will be taken into custody.”  The judge also called the outburst in his courtroom “despicable.”  In the crowd outside the courtroom after the hearing, Charmaine Schodde of Cochran, MN, said the man who shouted was her husband, Dave Schodde.  He did not immediately appear after the hearing. 

 

Sather remains in custody in the Sherburne County Jail.

 

The event drew animal activists from around the area, including the Twin Cities and further afield, such as Jenny Dulude, who drove 90 minutes from Hillman, MN to express her outrage at the case. The hearing also drew media attention, including a reporter from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and a video crew from WCCO-TV that included veteran journalist Esme Murphy.

 

In addition to the “Justice for Draco” signs, many of the activists were wearing bandanas and shirts with the same message embossed.  Emily Randolph, an event organizer and founder of the Facebook site also called Justice for Draco, said that the petition on that site asking the court not to accept any plea agreements in the case had received more than 88,000 signatures nation-wide as of Wednesday morning.