Criminal – DWI
Animal abuse conviction affirmed
The elements of animal abuse, by causing an animal to suffer, included purpose. Purpose meant that the result was a conscious object. Evidence that defendant beat and choked a dog supported a finding that defendant intended the dog to suffer. Defendant’s declared objective, of sacrificing the dog to the devil, did not change that result because the statutes distinguish purposeful suffering from humane killing. Conviction affirmed.
STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent vs. KEITH EDWARD MCINTOSH, Defendant-Appellant
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District – SD37827
Chronic offender status unsupported
Statute enhances the degree of the offense of driving while intoxicated if the State shows a sufficient number of prior convictions, within a specified time, in which “the conduct involved constituted ‘driving while intoxicated’ … as defined at the time of the current offense … , not the time of the conduct underlying the prior conviction.” Driving means “physically driving or operating [,]” and not “merely being in ‘actual physical control’ of, a vehicle. Which of those possibilities was the basis for earlier convictions is subject to no inference from the record. An enhanced sentence is subject to appeal for sufficiency of the evidence, which need not be included in a motion for new trial, as in any bench ruling. “[T]he state should have to carry its burden of proof without prompting from the defendant.” Remanded for re-sentencing.
State of Missouri, Respondent, vs. David Scott Nowicki, Appellant.
Supreme Court of Missouri – SC100041
