Our Little “Angel Star” : The Animal Cruelty Case Against Willie B. Turner

Sacramento, California

On Wednesday, June 24, thirty-three concerned animal welfare activists and community members filed into Department 36 of the Sacramento Superior Court to listen to the evidence against Willie B Turner on animal cruelty charges.  After 2 months of postponement  we were finally going to hear the state’s case. Many of us had become deeply sickened by the initial news reports that a small, young, tan – colored, female puppy had been burned alive in front of the  Oak Plains Masonic Lodge in Sacramento, California. Only the grey-white ash, bones and a liquified plastic square with metal gate remained as a patch on the sidewalk. The crime took place in the early morning hours of January 21, 2015.  Responding Fire Captain Shani Cornell told WNKTVU news that  ” I’m very emotional about this and I am going to start crying again. Yeah, it’s hard. I did most of my crying when I went back to the station last night”.  What was initially thought to be a pile of burning garbage turned out to be a tiny puppy burned to death inside of a crate.  Where did the dog come from and was it alive when it was set on fire? Who would do such a horrible thing and why would they do it?  This is the story of Angel Star Jefferson Turner, a young playful puppy, who happened to go on a weekend visit with her owner, Willie B. Turner, and his female friend. She never came home.   This was her journey as told to a courtroom full of concerned community, straining to hear the answers that they could never have imagined for themselves.

Deputy District Attorney Hilary Bagley – Franzoia is no stranger to animal cruelty cases.  She has been a prosecutor for the last 25 years and has tried many of Sacramento’s high profile animal victim cases . The case against Willie B. Turner, a 20 year old  from Oakland, California was presented with just 3 very powerful witnesses.  Testifying were Sacramento Metro Captain/Investigator Bryan Thompson, Sac Metro Fire Captain Investigator John Barsdale and Sacramento Sheriff’s Department Detective Cathy Crowley.  Charges brought against Turner were California Penal Codes 597 (a) maliciously and /or intentionally torturing or killing of an animal, PC 597 (b) subjecting an animal to needless suffering.while in charge or custody of that animal and PC 451 (d) arson on an inhabited dwelling or property. Small and slight of stature, only 5’6″ in height and slim, Turner sat quietly through the hearing with no show of emotion during the testimony.

On January 21, 2015 a homeowner woke up from a sound sleep and heard a screeching  that lasted from 90 seconds to 120 seconds. The sound then changed to a yelping  and then it became only a single howl.  The sound stopped and the homeowner fell back to sleep.  Within 30 minutes red, flashing lights disturbed his sleep again and he looked out the window to see firefighters and trucks extinguishing what appeared to be a pile of trash across the road on the sidewalk.  As fire investigators started canvassing the area the following morning, he realized the sound was probably a dog burning in a crate. Fire Inspector Barsdale took the homeowner’s statement while Detective Crowley watched a security video at the Del Norte Country Club. The Club adjoins the parking lot where the dog crate and dog remains had been found.  At 12: 09 am until 12: 12 am flames could be seen shooting up on the sidewalk of the Masonic Lodge in front of their locked gate.  This matched the homeowner’s  awakening time to howls estimated at 12 : 10 am to 12: 15 am that same morning.

Veterinary pathology/necropsy reports came back that a small female, tan haired puppy measuring 12 inches in length and 6 inches in width had been alive when burned to death.  The lower legs of the dog were  charred completely off with only stumps remaining. Pink frothy fluid was found in the larynx of the puppy and indicated pulmonary edema, which is caused when blood flows into the lungs and can not be pumped out rapidly. This is common in inhalation burns. The dog had been breathing when she inhaled  enough heat and flame to destroy the lungs and cause them to bleed while her heart was still pumping blood.  The female puppy was estimated to be approximately 8 – 9 weeks in age. It was determined that the dog had intestinal worms.  A piece of maroon colored cloth was stuck to her right hip. Sacramento Sheriff Department put out a request for public assistance and several animal welfare groups offered up a total of  $17, 000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator of this crime.  More than 70 calls came into the sheriff phone lines with information to offer.

One call stood out from the others.  A female civilian called to report that a male friend, named Willie Turner, had come for a short visit from Oakland with her daughter.   Willie had a small, female, tan puppy with him.  He had come on the bus with the dog and had stayed with her on Saturday the 17th of January. through the 21st.  While visiting he had become very upset with the puppy, named “Angel Star”. She had relieved herself in the house and when he cleaned up her droppings there were worms in the feces.  Willie became very angry and said the dog was sick and he wanted to “get rid of the dog”. The mother and her daughters told him there was medicine available for the worms and they could go to Petco the next day and get  treatment. Willie said he wanted to give the dog away instead and would “take the dog and put her on someone’s porch”.  Later in the afternoon, one of the  daughters noticed that Angel Star was limping.  The daughter assumed that Angel had been tossed off the second story balcony. It was at that time that she smelled what she believed was bleach and alcohol on the puppy.

Turner put Angel Star in a cardboard box with a maroon sweat shirt  and walked her across the street in an attempt to abandon her in a church parking lot.  The daughter saw that he had done this and went to get the puppy and bring her back to the apartment. When she arrived at the apartment she placed the dog in a plastic dog carrier. The carrier had been left over from a prior neighboring tenant, with the puppy was placed a maroon sweat shirt that had belonged to one of the daughters. The daughter planned for the puppy to stay warm with the sweatshirt until the next morning.  The family planned to take the puppy to Petco in the morning but Willie still wanted to get rid of the dog. The two sisters were upset about his treatment of the puppy.  One of the sisters told Willie that she did not want to be friends with anyone who treated their dog that way.  That daughter packed up his clothes and placed them on a living room chair.  The last sighting of Willie before the sisters went to bed was with the puppy in the crate downstairs.   He continued to state that he was going to abandon the dog on someone’s front porch.  When the mother woke at 5 am to take her younger children to school she noticed the crate was gone and Angel Star was also gone. Later that afternoon the mother heard the news of the fire and puppy found burned in a crate.

Inspector Barsdale and Detective Crowley began the investigation to confirm the mother’s story of events.  It was confirmed that Willie Turner and one of the daughters had purchased Greyhound bus tickets and arrived from Oakland to Sacramento on January 17, 2015.  Security video at the Sacramento Greyhound station showed the daughter arriving dressed in  maroon colored sweat pants and jacket  Willie Turner had a backpack on his shoulder and was carrying a small light colored dog in his arms.  Measurements had been taken of the outlined dimensions of the burned crate on the sidewalk in front of the Masonic lodge. They matched the dimensions of a 14 inch by 24 inch  patio stain on the balcony where the mother lived and claimed she had seen the the prior neighbor’s crate where it had been stored..  Willie Turner’s Facebook page was accessed and showed a picture of Turner with a small, tan puppy that he identified in the photo  as ” Angel Star Jefferson Turner” as Willie’s  dog. Detective Crowley asked one of the daughters to call Willie Turner and ask him what happened to his dog, Angel Star. The detective then recorded the conversation.  Turner admitted that he had abandoned the dog in the crate across the street but said ” I did not know the dog kennel was on fire”.  He apologized to the daughter for “making their friendship crazy” and said the dog “was in a better place”.

Willie B Turner was arrested at his residence on February 19th at 5 pm by Sacramento Sheriff Department deputies.   He was given his Miranda Rights and  he waived them.  During questioning Turner admitted that he had stayed with the Sacramento family on the day of  January 21st and that he wanted to give his dog, Angel Star, away because  she was  sick with worms.  He claimed that he took Angel, in her crate, to another friend in Sacramento who was a male and lived within 15 minutes of  the female’s residence. He refused to give detectives the name or address of the alleged friend.

Detective Crowley  contacted  the owner of the dog carrier used in the crime.  The previous neighbor stated she had moved from her apartment on January 7, 2015.  An arrangement had been made with the building manager on storing storing several of  her items for a fee . At no time, was she ever contacted by  anyone requesting the use of her dog crate. She had given no permission for anyone to use the dog crate   This concluded the prosecution’s witnesses and their testimony. Sufficient evidence and just cause  was found to indict Willie Turner on the animal cruelty charges and arson for trial..  A second arson charge will be added at his arraignment which is scheduled for July 2, 2015 at 8:30 am at the Sacramento County Jail court room 62 at 651 “I” St .

Throughout all hearings for Willie Turner a small but dedicated group of animal welfare activists have rallied outside each court building and have gone inside to watch the proceedings. In the last three months the court watchers have grown from 6 to over 25 people attending the trial.. The grassroots group call themselves Tougher Laws 4 Paws – California. They  wear orange shirts or ribbons with black paw prints as a solidarity color to say ” I am against animal abuse”.  .Jeni Beckham, Sacramento resident and activist, stated their purpose as “we are here to educate the public on the need for stronger laws and sentences for animal cruelty and to support all prosecutions of animal cruelty cases.”  Front street animal shelter reported 300 cases of animal abuse within the city limits of Sacramento in 2014.   Investigations are difficult and seldom lead to a prosecution.  When they are prosecuted, the public is usually disappointed on the punishments for the crimes.  Animal cruelty has been statistically shown to correlate, highly, with future violence against people by the perpetrators.  It is a crime that concerns all citizens of a community including those that love animals and those that are concerned for their own public safety. “Given the implementation of California’s realignment law, which reduces most state prison sentences to local time with split terms and early release, the reality of a true sentence in California animal abuse cases, is non-existent and nearly as reprehensible as the crime itself.  Federal agencies have recently elevated the status of animal cruelty.  Why California law makers have not yet acknowledged their oversight, is unclear.  If this bothers you, it should.   Take the time to contact your representatives to make a difference and correct this flaw   When a person can confine a helpless and conscious puppy in a locked crate, and then burn it alive…. the fact that a   3-year sentence is the very maximum that can be imposed, is an embarrassment to all Californians and all people.” said Sacramento Deputy District Attorney Bagley.  The maximum sentence allowed with all the charges of animal cruelty and arson for Willie Turner will be only 5 years.

Justice for Angel Star – Puppy Turner court watchers     (photo provided by Sasha Sabbeth)

Rae Kelly, Sasha Sabbeth and Jeni Beckham, Tougher Laws 4 Paws – California, contributed to this article.

See also:  De-worming your puppy procedures

The connection between human violence and animal violence

Petition for Justice 4 Angel Star – Puppy Turner

Sacramento District Attorney Office

Contact your California State Legislator