A Baton Rouge juvenile court judge has refused to sign a warrant to arrest a juvenile shown on video abusing dogs.
A Louisiana sheriff who helped investigate the case is outraged by the judge’s actions, saying she is “roadblocking” police efforts to bring justice in the case.
The graphic video, recorded in Baton Rouge, went viral and calls for justice quickly poured in from around the world.
Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi first launched a criminal probe earlier this week, but later turned the case over to East Baton Rouge Parish authorities once it was determined the crime happened in EBR Parish.
The juvenile’s face is clearly visible in the video.
“A warrant was put together with the evidence including the video, statements from other witnesses, and a positive ID of the juvenile defendant by the family and other witnesses,” Stassi said. He says the information was brought “to a judge in Baton Rouge and, at this time, she refused to sign the warrant where we could bring this young man to justice.”
Stassi says Juvenile Court Judge Pamela Johnson is the one who made the decision to not sign the arrest warrant. A call to Johnson for comment was not immediately returned.
Because the suspect is a juvenile, all legal proceedings are protected under the law, prohibiting them from being discussed, something District Attorney Hillar Moore says has prevented him from speaking out about the case.
"I would love to be able to tell the public what I know and what has happened, but unfortunately I can't since the person that has been charged as a juvenile," said Moore.
Stassi says he has received phone calls from people in at least eight states, and from around the world as well, “begging me to go out and do something about these dogs.”
"Massachusetts. We watching from Michigan. We watching from Colorado. Watching from Oklahoma. I've got calls from Australia, Nevada, New York, Maine, Texas, and they continue to call us and ask us questions and that's why I'm here today, just trying to get answers for the people," said Stassi.
The video is so graphic we have made the editorial decision not to publish it.
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