ON JANUARY 9, 2024, A SUMMIT COUNTY JURY FOUND ATTORNEY MYERS' CLIENT NOT GUILTY AS TO A FELONY ANIMAL CRUELTY CHARGE

Over a year ago, in November of 2022, Attorney Olivia Myers' client took his very sick puppy in to One of A Kind Pet Rescue in Akron, OH and begged them to treat his puppy. The Humane Society of Summit County thereafter investigated and charged the client with two counts of felony animal cruelty.
The State alleged that Attorney Myers' client 1 ) caused serious physical harm to the puppy and 2) deprived the puppy of necessary sustenance and it was reasonably expected that the puppy would die or experience unnecessary or unjustifiable pain as a result of the deprivation.
Prior to trial, Attorney Myers pointed out that the law had since changed since her client was indicted to make Count 2 of the indictment, alleging that her client deprived the puppy of necessary sustenance, a misdemeanor. The State agreed and amended Count 2 to a misdemeanor prior to trial.
Attorney Myers presented two witnesses at trial, one of which was her client's best friend, an Akron Police officer. Each witness explained to the jury that they personally observed the client provide love, care, support, food, water and necessities to the puppy. In addition, the witnesses explained that they noticed there may have been something physically wrong with the puppy as soon as the client took it in due to its physical appearance.
At the end of the trial, the jury found the client not guilty on the felony count but guilty on the misdemeanor. The client intends to appeal the conviction of the misdemeanor due to several errors made during the course of the trial and to maintain his innocence.


