Darrell E. Jordan

12-week old Pit Bull’s ears brutally cropped

Racine, WI

April 29, 2006

Darrell E. Jordan, 42, of 4605 21^st Street, was accused on Friday, April 29^th, with brutally cropping a 12-week old Pit Bull’s

ears in a backyard operation.  Jordan was charged with mistreating animals and causing disfiguration as a habitual offender

after he allegedly left the dog with jagged cuts on its ears.

Jordan faces penalties of up to 7-1/2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. His original charge brought

a 3-1/2 year maximum prison sentence, but the sentence was extended up to 4 years because he was

charged as a habitual offender.

According to the criminal complaint, Jordan sold the Pit Bull to Kevin D Gibson, 21, of 1317 Layard

Avenue after he noticed him standing outside his home in early April.  Gibson agreed to purchase the

dog for $100 and gave Jordan $22 with the understanding that he would make regular payments to

Jordan.  On April 29^th, Jordan told Gibson he knew how to crop the dog’s ears and charged Gibson

$70 to perform the operation.  Gibson gave the dog to Jordan who returned an hour later.

Gibson stated that the dog’s ears looked ‘crazy’ and immediately took the dog to the North Shore

Animal Hospital for medical attention.  Lori Jensen, Practice Manager at the animal hospital stated

that Gibson and another person brought the dog to the hospital but admitted they did not have

enough money to adequately care for the dog.  Jensen had the owners relinquish ownership of the

dog so she could pursue medical care.

The dog’s ears had jagged incisions, were not sutured closed and cut too deep into the dog’s cartilage.

Hospital personnel stated the procedure would have been extremely painful for the dog and believed

the dog’s mouth was taped shut during the procedure. The dog immediately received antibiotics and

painkillers and underwent reconstructive surgery on his ears on May 1^st.

Lynn Nielsen of Hope Safehouse stated the dog was officially adopted by new owners in the

Milwaukee area.

Update  July 6, 2006

Darrell Jordan, accused of mutilating a dog’s ears, had his preliminary hearing delayed on Thursday, July 6^th, because the dog’s original owner is in custody and was unable to testify without Prosecutors first talking to his attorney.

Jordan was charged in early June with mistreating animals causing mutilation for allegedly cropping a 12-week old Pit Bull’s ears so poorly that the dog’s owner, Kevin Gibson, turned him over to an animal shelter, worried that he was severely injured.

If convicted, Jordan could face 7-1/2 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.  Jordan allegedly sold the puppy to Gibson for $100 in April and stated that he would crop the puppy’s ears for $70. After the April 27^th operation, Gibson stated the dog’s ears looked ‘crazy’ and took him to North Shore Animal Hospital.  The dog, now named ‘Chopper” was adopted by a family in the Milwaukee area.

Jordan’s preliminary hearing, time for Prosecutors to present evidence to show probable cause for the charges, was scheduled for Thursday, July 6^th and Gibson was expected to testify.  Gibson, however, is in the Racine County Jail after an arrest in early June for felony bail jumping and misdemeanor resisting or obstructing an officer.  Because Gibson has an attorney for his ongoing case, Prosecutors cannot speak to him without speaking to his attorney, who was not able to be located on Thursday morning.  The hearing has been rescheduled for July 11^th.

Update 12/20/06:

Jordan pled guilty to animal cruelty charges in November.    He has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and 3 years on extended supervision.

The dog originally named "Gotti" was renamed "Chopper" by Hope Safehouse who coordinated his foster care and adoption.  Chopper was placed in a permanent home in Milwaukee after going through puppy training classes at the Wisconsin Humane Society.

Reference:

Journal Times