LIHUE — The attorney for a man accused of killing a goat wants to have an evidentiary hearing. “Ms. (Ginger) Grinpas and I worked to see if there was a middle ground, but there wasn’t,” said Mark Zenger. On Wednesday,
LIHUE — The attorney for a man accused of killing a goat wants to have an evidentiary hearing.
“Ms. (Ginger) Grinpas and I worked to see if there was a middle ground, but there wasn’t,” said Mark Zenger.
On Wednesday, Ryan Winchell appeared before Judge Kathleen Watanabe on charges of theft of livestock, cruelty to animals and having an unloaded firearm in an illegal place, to discuss a motion that would revoke or modify his sentence.
But Zenger said since an evidentiary hearing is set, he wants to have a status hearing to hear from Ginger Grinpas, deputy prosecutor, because she was not present in court.
He also said he needs time to see if two witnesses can be flown in from the Mainland.
Officials with the Kauai Police Department said the two men stole a 3-year-old goat, four months into pregnancy, from a pasture in Moloaa sometime between April 27 and 29, 2011.
The men allegedly climbed over a fence to gain access to the private property where the goats were kept, according to police.
According to reports, in 2011, after beheading a goat named Kaitlyn that belonged to Kunana Dairy, Winchell and his co-defendant, Russell Ho‘omanawanui, took the edible parts, including the head, leaving behind the guts and unborn kids.
Winchell was arrested on June 30, 2011, and Ho‘omanawanui was arrested on July 18, 2011.
Winchell, who was 29 at the time, was arrested on charges of first-degree criminal property damage, second-degree theft, theft of livestock, and having and storing a firearm in illegal places to keep the firearm.
The theft, property damage and storage of firearms charges were dismissed on Aug. 1, 2013.
That same year, he was sentenced to serve five years probation.
Winchell will be back in court on Aug. 29 for a status hearing.
