Office of the Prosecuting Attorney 100 W. Main st KYLE B. BUTLER County’of lonia 3rd Flor Courthouse Prosecuting Attorney Tonia, MI 48846 State. of Michigan son Si 3375302 PRESS RELEASE In the Matters of Major, Mario, and Luigh (Ionia, Ml) Our office is charged with the duty to see that the law is enforced. We do however, exercise discretion when determining which cases enter the justice system and which do not. We do not put cases in front of a trier of fact (judge or jury) unless we believe that there is a reasonable certainty that the allegation can be proved to the degree the law requires. However, sometimes, reasonable minds differ as to what the outcome of a case should be—even when viewing the same set of facts. In this case, after viewing the information available, my office and | concluded that there was reasonable certainty that these three dogs not only had been running at large contrary to law, but also were responsible for the death of the three goats and cat. With that, we put this case in front of the District Court and the court initially saw the facts as we did and ordered destruction. The case was appealed and affirmed by the Circuit Court, only to have the District Court subsequently order a new hearing, Clearly, reasonable minds differed on this case—even among experts. With that, I respect and accept the latest ruling of the District Court and I will not be appealing the decision. | have no regret putting this case before the trier of fact, and following through with this case after a new hearing was ordered, Our office spoke with experts in the field who also saw the facts as we did. tna community ike this—a rural community home to a lot of livestock—I will advocate for owners of livestock and do what I believe to be the right thing when it comes to protecting their livestock