CONVICTED (2024) | drug addict Niall O’Kane, born 21 January 1987, of Altinure Road, Claudy, Londonderry BT47 4DG – punched a dog repeatedly, bit her then tried to strangle her during domestic violence incident.
Junkie O’Kane, who has a string of criminal convictions dating back 14 years, also attacked his sister in bed and set fire to her bedroom door while she was inside.
The court was told that on July 10, 2023, O’Kane returned to the home he shared with his mother and sister in a state of intoxication.
He asked his sister, who was in bed, if he could borrow her phone, but she refused.
O’Kane then became “violent, aggressive and threatening” and turned his attention to his sister’s dog,.
The court heard he “punched the dog a number of times, bit the dog and then grabbed it by the neck as if trying to strangle it”.
As his sister grappled with him to protect her pet, O’Kane “grabbed her by the back of the head and bit her on the cheek” before he staggered from the bedroom.
A short time later, the sister noticed flames at her door and rang some friends to come to her aid.
When they arrived at the property, O’Kane, who was slumped on the sofa, told them to “f*** off”.
They ignored him and extinguished the fire, which he had started by piling clothes against the door and setting them alight.
O’Kane was unfit to be interviewed by police until the following day. He said he recalled nothing of the previous evening because he had been on a drink and drug binge. He denied attacking the dog, however, and claimed to have a good relationship with his sister.
Ultimately O’Kane, who has links to Limavady, County Londonderry, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal alongside assault, criminal damage and arson.
The court heard that Kane had amassed 51 previous convictions — half of them related to his drug habit.
Sentencing | one-year custodial of which half will be spent on licence. No mention of a ban on keeping animals.
Gannon, who was previously convicted of running an illegal venison supply plant, was prosecuted following a police investigation into his activities initiated in January 2020.
Searches were carried out at a property in the Castlederg area and in two food processing plants in Coalisland and Scotland. This led to a further investigation into money laundering.
In court Gannon pleaded guilty to various charges in relation to the possession of criminal property.
Detective Chief Inspector Wilson said: “We welcome the outcome and want to remind the public and any business owners that we will continue to tackle all types of criminality including wildlife crime such as deer poaching and money laundering, investigating reports accordingly.
“The investigations into Mr Gannon’s unlawful activity, were conducted collaboratively with partners from the Food Standard Agency, Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, and Derry City and Strabane Environmental Health Council, which highlights our shared determination and commitment to disrupting these types of crime.
“Going forward, the local community is encouraged to report any similar incidents of deer poaching to police, to prevent this illegal activity taking place. I would also like to add that when investigating officers are considering wildlife crime other offences may be identified”.
Sentencing | 200 hours of community service; confiscation order for £6,000.
CONVICTED (2023) | Peter Paul Toland, born 15 March 1994, of 35 Cornshell Fields, Londonderry BT48 7UG* – beat his dog and buried her as she lay dying.
Peter Toland’s dog, Luna (pictured), was found barely alive by a member of the public having suffered multiple injuries, including broken teeth and broken bones.
On March 15, 2023, the American bulldog known as Luna, was brought to a veterinary clinic by police officers after she was found partially buried and under a stone by a member of the public in Ballyarnett Country Park.
Luna was humanely put down due to the extent of her injuries. A post-mortem examination found she was severely underweight, weighing just 19kg.
She had a facial haematoma as well as fractures which had been caused by blunt force. These were recent, possibly only hours old, and had been caused by a wide object.
Her ears were packed with mud which had been forced into her ears.
She had a body mass of two out of nine, meaning she was severely emaciated with no muscle mass present. Her canine teeth were broken and her pulse was exposed.
The dog was put to sleep on humane grounds.
The judge said Toland’s treatment of Luna amounted to “extreme” cruelty and she had suffered months of abuse and neglect before she was brutally killed.
In his police interview Toland said he’d owned the dog for two years. He said he’d gone to Donegal on March 15 and when he returned home he noticed Luna was missing.
Toland told the police Luna had “dropped a full litter of pups the previous October” but said that he’d never taken the dog to a veterinary clinic nor registered any of his dogs with any clinic.
Dog killer: Peter Toland is banned from keeping animals for life
When the police searched Toland’s home they found three other dogs in the enclosed rear garden. There was no water for them, bedding was inadequate, and the yard contained a considerable amount of faeces.
The prosecutor said Toland told the police Luna had never run away before and that he’d searched for her for one hour after he’d discovered she was missing.
Defence barrister Eoghan Devlin said there was “absolutely no doubt Toland is a terrible owner of animals” but he submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove its case that the defendant had buried the dog alive.
The barrister said the police had failed to properly investigate the incident. They’d neither looked for CCTV footage nor organised an identity line-up for the member of the public who’d found the dog and who had seen two men at the scene.
The District Judge said either the dog got out of the back yard and somebody partially buried her or somebody took the dog from the back yard and did it.
“It is appalling and despicable that this animal was found as it was found. To think that somebody could bury the animal alive is just incomprehensible.
“No person with the slightest shred of decency would do that. But somebody did it, either a person or persons unknown did that, or the dog somehow got out for the first time and then somebody did this to the dog.
“This animal was in an appalling state of health. It was emaciated, there was no muscle mass, it had broken canine teeth, puncture wounds and facial fractures that was the result of blunt trauma with a wide object.
“This animal had suffered a prolonged period of suffering, months long, and that is squarely at the door of the defendant. He took no steps to have the dog treated, no steps to take it to a vet. He took no steps to deal with a severely emaciated dog, he is guilty”, said Mr Magill.
After jailing Toland, who has 46 previous criminal convictions, for nine months, the judge granted a defence application for leave to appeal the sentence and released the defendant on continuing bail.
Sentencing | nine months in jail. Banned from keeping animals for life.
*alternative address: 84 Bloomfield Park, Londonderry BT48 8HB. This is the home of his parents, Clare and Paul Toland, but word on the street is that this is where he’s hiding out.
Update | 8 January 2024
Toland was finally jailed after his appeal over a nine month sentence was dismissed in court.
The sentence amounts to 30% of the maximum available to the court with Toland expected to serve half of that sentence behind bars.
After Toland had spent 25 days on bail, his solicitor asked asked Judge Neil Rafferty KC at Bishop’s Street County Court to dismiss the appeal.
The appeal was dismissed and Toland’s previous sentence was affirmed and he started his nine month jail term today.
A friend of Toland’s, Liam Glennon, was initially implicated alongside him after several witnesses said they saw the pair together on 15 March 2023 near to where Luna was found.
Peter Toland with fellow wildlife persecutor Liam GlennonGlennon posts sick images showing foxes being mauled to death by dogs on social media
Glennon, who like Toland enjoys persecuting wildlife, denied the allegations and it appears that case against him did not proceed.
CONVICTED (2023) | backyard breeder Nadine Wells, born 13 May 1993, of 76 Cornshell Fields, Derry BT48 7UH – for the ill-treatment of a German shepherd and two of her puppies.
Wells was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to the German Shepherd named Bella and two puppies.
The complaint was brought against Wells by Derry City and Strabane District Council under the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011.
Wells’s dog Bella produced a litter of nine puppies but the vile backyard breeder only faced cruelty charges in relation to two of the pups and Bella herself
An investigation was carried out by the council’s Animal Welfare Officer, after a complaint that a German Shepherd puppy was hanging out the top window of a home trying to drink water off the outside of the window.
The dogs were then found to be living in unhygienic conditions and had no access to water.
All three dogs were successfully re-homed by the local authority.
Sentencing | two-year conditional discharge; total costs of £434. Disqualified from keeping animals for five years (expires May 2028).
CONVICTED (2023) | Dylan Lockhart, born c. 1996, from Beraghvale, Londonderry/Derry – for cruelty to two emaciated Staffies kept in unhygienic conditions.
Lockhart was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years and banned from keeping dogs for seven years (expires April 2030).
He was convicted after a case was brought against him by Derry City and Strabane District Council.
He was also ordered to pay costs totalling £1,325 for veterinary costs and care of the two dogs and legal fees of £226.
The Council successfully rehomed both of the dogs.
CONVICTED (2022) | former police officer John Fleming (age and address unknown) – caught on camera brutally kicking one dog and slamming the head of another onto the road.
Fleming pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to his pets (pictured): Alsatian cross Ko and Staffy Alfie during the incident.
A witness spotted Fleming with his dogs on the Craigbrack Road, Eglinton, on January 30, 2021.
They saw Ko had “grabbed a springer spaniel by the back and was shaking it.”
Fleming kicked Ko until the dog let go and the Alsatian “cowered before him”.
But Fleming then bent down, picked the dog up by his head and slammed him “hard onto the ground”.
The witness recorded the rest of the incident on dashcam.
During the footage played to the court, Fleming is seen continuing to kick at the Alsatian a number of times before the animal gets up and runs back onto the road.
Fleming, wearing a yellow high vis jacket, can be seen swinging five full-force kicks at Ko.
At least three of his kicks connect with the animal, who is then seen running way.
Fleming (right) with husband Daniel Fleming-Cairo and a relative.
Striding a short distance down the road after Ko, Fleming appears to stop his husband Daniel Fleming-Cairo from stroking Alfie.
But he then picks up the smaller dog by his scruff and hindquarters, raising him above head height, arms fully stretched, before slamming the animal into tarmac.
The video records Fleming repeating the move – lifting Alfie nearly to head height, and slamming him into the ground.
However the footage is cut off when a vehicle drives in front of the camera, obscuring Fleming and his husband from view.
Prosecuting counsel said while there was no audio on the recording, the witness claimed he had “blasted the car horn and shouted something along the lines of ‘stop beating that dog’.”
However Fleming’s reaction was to turn around and begin “shouting and posturing aggressively,“ the court was told.
There were confrontational words exchanged between the men, with Fleming trying to open the vehicle door.
Disgraced former police officer John Fleming pictured outside court.
Council and police officers went to Fleming’s home a few days later. A vet noticed that while both animals were friendly and good-natured, Alfie “did appear to be slightly sore when sitting and rising and was assessed as having a mild weight-bearing lameness in his right leg with a superficial wound.”
A third dog was also seized during the visit.
Although initially Fleming’s husband wanted to contest the Council’s application for this dog to be re-homed the court heard he had agreed to the measure.
The court also heard that when he was initially questioned about the incident, Fleming claimed his actions were “proportional.”
He said: “Obviously I am remorseful that I had to hit my dogs… [but] I wouldn’t have acted if I didn’t think that they weren’t correct… Do I regret acting? No… It’s the circumstances I regret that it even happened.”
When the witness’ account was put to him, Fleming “laughed throughout” that portion of the interview and accused the witness “of a public disorder offence”.
Defence counsel Eoghan Devlin said that Fleming had been dismissed from the PSNI this week “as a result of these proceedings”.
Not only had he suffered the ignominy of finding himself in the dock, but he had also lost “what was a very promising career,” Mr Devlin added.
Fleming faced a maximum sentence of five years behind bars, but walked free from court with a community service order..
Sentencing | 200-hour Community Service Order; £2000 towards costs. Banned from keeping any animal for ten years.
CONVICTED (2021) | Gwen McCarter, born 15 February 1978, and son Chris ‘Chrissy’ McCarter, born 30 April 1996, both of Irish Street, Londonderry BT47 – left two dogs to starve to death in an abandoned property; only one survived
Chrissy and Gwen McCarter were found guilty of cruelty over dog’s death
Mother and son Gwen and Chrissy McCarter were jointly charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a dog, failing to meet the needs of two dogs and abandoning animals on or before January 19, 2018.
A representative from Derry City and Strabane District Council read out the prosecution facts.
She said an animal welfare officer called to a house in Kingsmere Gardens on January 23, 2018 after a neighbour had raised concerns about barking dogs.
On entering the property the council worker discovered that the floor was covered in faeces and urine. She also observed a few pieces of dry dog food.
A terrier dog was discovered lying dead on the floor; his coat was matted and the worker could feel his ribs, hip bones and spine.
Another dog – a black and tan terrier – could be heard barking from under the table.
The council officer managed to coax the dog out and he was found to be emaciated. The dog, known as Toby, was given some water.
The court heard that rubbish was strewn around the house, there were empty packets of dog food and no electricity.
A vet determined that the surviving dog would suffer if his circumstances didn’t change and he was taken into the care of the council.
A post-mortem was carried out on the dead dog and found him to be ‘in very poor condition’.
Assessing the environment which he described as ‘a picture of neglect’, the vet found that there were ‘shocking levels of filth’ in the property and no food or water for the pets.
The vet believed the dead dog was ‘out-competed’ for food by his companion and the animal ‘suffered in its final days’.
Gwen McCarter’s workplace was identified and she was cautioned. She told police she did not believe the dogs were abandoned and thought her son and his friends were looking after them.
The defendant confirmed that she owned the dead dog along with her ‘since ex-partner’.
The other dog was only in the house for a short time, she said, and she had left two weeks previous.
Gwen McCarter was said to be ‘shocked’ that the dog had died but accepted that he had suffered.
Dog killer Chrissy McCarter with ex-girlfriend Julie McCartney, who in early 2019 was charged with an arson attack that killed two racehorses
Christopher McCarter was then traced in July 2018 and subsequently cautioned.
He confirmed that he had owned the surviving dog, Toby, along with his partner, Julie McCartney, but they had since broken up.
Incidentally, in January 2019, Julie McCartney was charged with starting a fire at stables, which resulted in two racehorses burning to death. The outcome of that case was never reported.
The outcome of the case against alleged horse killer Julie McCartney isn’t known
McCarter signed a voluntary transfer order for the council to rehome Toby.
The pair were convicted in their absence of all charges.
Sentencing (18 March 2021): four months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years; given 26 weeks to pay boarding costs, veterinary costs and legal costs totalling just over £2,600. Lifetime ban on ever holding or keeping any animals in the future.
CONVICTED (2020) | Kerri Leanne Ogilby, born c. 1984, most recently of Great James Street, Londonderry BT48 7DB – left a Shih-Tzu dog in an empty flat for several days without food or water
Kerri Ogilby, who has longstanding drug and alcohol addiction issues, can now add animal abuse to her long list of criminal convictions
Ogilby, who has 96 previous criminal convictions including burglary, disorderly behaviour and assaulting police officers, was convicted in May 2019 in her absence of causing unnecessary suffering to the unnamed dog. As she was a ‘no-show’ for her court appearance, a warrant was issued for her arrest and she has only now been sentenced.
The court was told that a report was received on December 22, 2017 that the defendant had not been seen for several days and there was concern for a dog she kept in her basement flat.
Attempts were made to contact Ogilby but were unsuccessful.
An officer called out to the basement flat and there was no reply and tape was placed over the lock.
A dog could be heard barking on the premises. A subsequent visit revealed that the tape was intact signifying the defendant had not entered the flat.
A decision was made to force entry and the male Shih Tzu was found locked in a small bathroom.
The dog had no access to food or water. The floor of the bathroom had faeces, shredded toilet roll and empty alcohol containers.
The dog’s hip bones and ribs could be clearly felt through his thick coat.
He was seized by animal welfare officers on recommendation of the Council-instructed vet.
Upon examination, the vet confirmed that the dog was suffering due to poor body condition, dehydration and abandonment.
Following his recovery the dog was successfully rehomed.
Sentencing: six months’ imprisonment on each of the two charges; ordered to pay £700. Disqualified for life from keeping or caring for any animals in any manner.
CONVICTED (2019) | Samantha Kerrigan, born 1 September 1985, of Spencer Road, Londonderry BT47 – for the abandonment of a dog that was found hanging, alive, from a first-floor window of her home
Samantha Kerrigan is banned from keeping animals for ten years after leaving a dog to starve in an empty house
Samantha Kerrigan admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal on or before 1 October 2017.
The court heard that police were called to an address in Spencer Road after reports of a dog hanging from a first-floor window.
Members of the public got a ladder and rescued the unnamed female bull terrier.
Police forced entry into the flat and there was a strong smell of dog faeces.
The court heard the dog drank two litres of water in a very short space of time when given it by police and also ate food.
A vet determined that the dog was in danger of falling out the window and had been neglected with no access to water and being left alone in the flat.
The defendant contacted police to confirm ownership of the animal but failed to attend for interview.
The court was told the dog was euthanised a month later. The reason for this is unclear.
Defence solicitor, Maoiliosa Barr, said Kerrigan would class herself as an animal lover. He said that Kerrigan suffered from addiction issues and added she was “barely able to look after herself never mind anything else.”
The solicitor said that the dog was supposed to go to a friend of her partner but he had been sent to prison so she had taken the dog.
He said she was “very upset” when she heard what happened to the dog.
District Judge Barney McElholm said if it wasn’t for Kerrigan’s health she would have gone straight to prison.
Sentencing | eight months in prison suspended for two years. A 10-year ban on keeping any animals (expires November 2029).
CONVICTED (2019) | Peter James Mongan, born 24 May 1996, of Maureen Avenue, Londonderry BT48 6TE- sent his former partner videos of him threatening their dog and kicking him repeatedly.
Peter Mongan, who is from a notorious family of travellers, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dog called Bobby.
The court heard that Mongan sent the woman texts threatening to hurt their dog unless she came to his flat and spent the night there, which she did not want to do.
In some of the texts, he explicitly stated he would hurt the dog unless she replied to his messages.
The woman was also sent two videos of Mongan kicking the dog and he could be heard saying, “Can you see this?”
Mongan, who has 54 previous convictions, also admitted harassing his girlfriend and sending her a mobile phone message with the intention of causing her anxiety.
The offences took place on 29 May, 2019.
Footage of the attack on the dog was shown to deputy district judge Laura Ievers prior to sentencing.
Defence barrister Eoghan Devlin said Mongan accepted that custody was inevitable.
“They are ugly offences and there is no getting away from that”, he said.
Sentencing | seven months in prison. Disqualified from owning any animal for five years (expires July 2024).
