Libor Jany
DANBURY — A 51-year-old Bantam man whose two German shepherds allegedly mauled a man and his puppy last April pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Wednesday, thereby avoiding jail time in a plea agreement that dropped other charges, court records show.
Robert Kahn had been charged with two counts of allowing a dog to roam, animal nuisance and second-degree reckless endangerment. He pleaded guilty Wednesday at Danbury Superior Court to the latter charge for the April 2, 2010 dog attack on Guy Marchison and his then 15-week-old golden retriever, according to the prosecution.
The prosecution said Marchison, then 50, was walking his dog, Star, near the Ridgefield Recreation Center when they were attacked by Kahn’s German shepherds, which were running loose at the time.
Marchison said he suffered cuts to his arms, face and neck, while Star had several broken ribs and an injured front paw, court documents show. He said Kahn then whistled for the dogs before driving off without so much as an apology, according to the prosecution. Police said he picked the dog up to try to shield it from the attack.
Superior Court Judge Susan Reynolds sentenced Kahn to six months in jail, but that sentence was suspended and he was placed on two years of conditional discharge.
Kahn, who now lives in Virginia, has been ordered to pay $9100 restitution, said Marchison’s attorney William Bloss, of Bridgeport, in an email to The News-Times.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Kahn admitted to investigators to walking his two dogs of the leash near the rec center that day and that he “heard the puppy yelp in pain, but thought that the man walking the puppy stepped on the puppy.”
Southbury Canine Control Officer Marilyn Muratori told investigators that “Kahn and his dogs have been involved in several incidents where his (dogs) have attacked animals. One of the incidents also involved him leaving the scene after an attack as the police were being called,” the warrant said.
Kahn had previously told the court that the German shepherds have “always been very well-behaved dogs.”
“They are not attack animals. I’ve had dogs all my life. I love animals, and I would never want to see anyone hurt, dog or human,” he said.
Kahn was represented by Mickey Sherman, the high-profile Stamford lawyer who later ran into legal problems of his own. Sherman is currently serving a 366-day sentence for tax evasion.
