Woman at Dog Death House When Cops Made Raid Gets Probation
A Lockport woman spent nearly three months in jail on animal cruelty charges but was sprung Thursday.
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When Joliet narcotics cops raided a South Briggs Street house in August they were looking for drugs but instead found a basement full of dead, starving and wounded dogs.
The officers with the Joliet Narcotics Unit also weren't looking for Amber Norris, but the 21-year-old Lockport woman happened to be there and admitted to having "some responsibility for the dogs" and allowing that she "did care for them on occasion," Assistant State's Attorney Fred Harvey said during a Thursday afternoon court hearing.
That was enough to land Norris in jail on 11 counts of felony aggravated cruel treatment of animals. On Thursday she pleaded guilty to six of those counts and was sentenced to two years probation.
Judge Richard Schoenstedt said he would be less inclined to accept Norris' plea deal if Harvey hadn't told him that she did not live there or own the dogs. Schoenstedt also asked Harvey if the cops were attempting to identify the owner of the dead and dying dogs, and the prosecutor told him that detectives were indeed trying to track him down.
Harvey had also told Judge Schoenstedt that the Joliet Narcotics Unit was after another individual and not targeting Norris when they raided the house.
Each of the 11 counts of aggravated cruel treatment to animals filed against Norris details the suffering of 11 different pit bulls found at the 119 S. Briggs St. residence. The dogs located in the basement of the house were loaded down with weights and chains and had been trained to fight, Harvey said.
Norris had spent 85 days in jail before Schoenstedt sentenced her to probation.
In This article
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City of Joliet
150 W Jefferson St, Joliet, IL -
Joliet Police Department
150 W Washington St, Joliet, IL -
Will County Adult Detention Center
95 S Chicago St, Joliet, IL
RescueMom2
9:24 am on Friday, November 16, 2012
That's all she gets for her involvement? Probation? God only knows how long those poor dogs were suffering. I truly wished the animal cruelty laws were much stricter.
Infamous Steve
9:26 am on Friday, November 16, 2012
Could not agree with you more.
Formereastside
10:12 am on Friday, November 16, 2012
Everyone in the house should be charged for not calling the humane soc - they knew the dogs were being mistreated and used for fighting. Ignoring the crime should be a crime. Will county judges are too easy - the crime in this county is going to keep rising if the judges won't do thier jobs.
Flora Dora
10:21 am on Saturday, November 17, 2012
People who can be so cruel to animals will probably be just as cruel to helpless humans - children, the aged, and infirm.
nancy giampietro
1:16 pm on Sunday, November 18, 2012
I can't believe that judge gave her probation. Is he or she an elected judge? If so, i would like to know the name of said judge so I can make sure they never sit at another bench again - EVER . That woman is sick and demented to inflict such cruelty on those animals. That is just the beginning of what a sociopath does before they start their sick, depraved way with humans. Those animals were innocent and couldn't fight back. She needs to be locked up and the key thrown away so she never inflicts pain on another living thing again.
John Roberts
6:56 am on Monday, November 19, 2012
Wow by all of your comments I am glad you are all not judges....from your words everyone should be locked up for what other people do...yeah this lady migh of known about it..at least she tried to help....and do any of you know any of these people or how dangerous they are? Might not of been in her best interest to be snitching...I know none of them..but they were not her dogs.....now all of you ask yourself...exactly how much snitching do you do on your friends and family when they do something wrong?..chances are all of you know someone that is doing something illegal and are not saying a word...but ready to cast the first stone.....