A young teacher was yesterday charged with allowing her dog to injure a neighbour.
The charge against Marissa Hartman is that on August 5, at South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, being the owner of a ferocious dog, she suffered it to be at large and injure Weldon Harper.
The teacher pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to her by city magistrate Fabayo Azore, who granted her $75,000 bail.
The prosecution’s case is that on the day in question Harper was cleaning his front drain and parapet when the dog came out of its owner’s yard and attacked and bit him.
The court heard from prosecutor Adduni Inniss that Hartman’s family has many dogs and it was not the first time that Harper had been bitten.
When asked, Inniss was unable to tell the court where Harper was bitten and the extent of his injuries. She nevertheless objected to Hartman being granted bail, saying that the offence was serious.
Hartman’s attorney Roger Yearwood, however, argued that his client was not responsible for the alleged attack. He said too that on the day in question it was the complainant who was “provoking the dog.”
The lawyer said that even though the incident is not his client’s liability, she has been fully cooperating with the police.
He also questioned what the prosecution meant by the term “ferocious dog,” while noting that as far as he was aware the animal in question was the type referred to as the “rice eating” dogs.
The lawyer said that his client has a fixed place of abode at 362 Anira Place South Ruimveldt, posed no risk of flight and would return to court to vindicate herself.
After hearing both sides, the court overruled the prosecution’s objections and granted the defendant $75,000 bail.
Yearwood begged the court for a reduction in the sum, saying that it would cost his client three months of her salary. The magistrate, however, informed that having considered all the circumstances, a reduction would not be granted.
The matter will be called again on September 29.
