A plea deal is on the table for a 58-year-old homeless Hilo woman accused of abusing a pet puppy in April.
Hilo District Judge Jeffrey Hawk on Sept. 10 granted a continuance to Leilani Vaughn, ordering her to appear for arraignment and plea at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 22.
Deputy Public Defender Paul Billinson requested the postponement so he and his client can discuss the plea deal offered by the prosecution, as well as review police body camera footage.
Vaughn is charged with second-degree cruelty to animals and obstructing government operations, both misdemeanors carrying a maximum sentence of a year in jail upon conviction.
Police arrested Vaughn, who had no permanent address, on April 14 after receiving a report from an employee in a business in the Waiakea Kai Shopping Plaza that a woman was “beating up a dog” near the plaza at 88 Kanoelehua Ave., according to a court document.
The document describes the animal as “a brown puppy weighing approximately 10 pounds.”
The reporting witness “informed responding officers that she observed Vaughn ‘beating, slapping, punching and hanging the puppy by its leash,’” the document states. The complainant showed officers cellphone video of the violent behavior, according to the petition.
“The video surveillance graphically depicts the puppy whining, barking and making guttural noises that signified distress due to injury and/or deprivation of necessary oxygen … .”
Officer Victor McLellan, when he arrived, “observed Vaughn forcefully grabbing the puppy by its muzzle while repeatedly and aggressively shaking the puppy’s head and yanking on the rope leash around the puppy’s neck,” the document states.
Vaughn, who also is known as Leilani Kumunalu, allegedly interfered with officers when they took the dog from her.
The dog was turned over to Animal Control and Protection.
In a separate civil proceeding, Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach ruled the dog was properly seized and impounded by the county and ordered its forfeiture by Vaughn.
Vaughn is free on supervised release, a form of cashless bail.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
