The Crawford County District Court in Girard dismissed all charges against Andrew Romanzi, who had been charged with four counts of cruelty to animals stemming from a situation involving English Bulldogs found in Romanzi's freezer.
The court dismissed all charges with prejudice, meaning the state is prohibited from refiling the case.
The misdemeanor charges were dismissed because of a violation of Romanzi's right to a speedy trial, which is preserved by Kansas law.
The Crawford County Attorney's office failed to bring Romanzi, a rural Pittsburg resident, to trial within 180 days of his first appearance. The case was set for trial one day after the deadline, said Crawford County Attorney John Gutierrez. The burden of a timely trial rests upon the prosecution; in this case that was Gutierrez.
“It was a miscalculation on my part and the court’s part,” Gutierrez said.
A defendant does not have to take any action to preserve his or her right to a speedy trial.
On July 31, 2007, deputies responded to Romanzi's residence to retrieve four English Bulldogs because of a court order to return the dogs to Kay Romanzi, his ex-wife.
When deputies arrived, Andrew Romanzi led the deputies to a freezer, where he removed three bags containing the carcasses of one dog in each bag. A fourth bulldog was released to the previous owner by Romanzi, but the dog was 10 pounds underweight.
According to an autopsy, all three of the dogs in the freezer were 10 to 35 pounds underweight.
Crawford County Sheriff Sandy Horton said he was disappointed that the charges were dropped.
"I think the sheriff's department thoroughly investigated what I thought was a crime," Horton said. "When you abuse an animal and do what Mr. Romanzi has allegedly done, you deserve to be put on trial. The dogs that were found in the freezer don't have anyone speaking up for them."
Horton said his department investigated and had done everything they could do on their side of the legal system.
"It's up to the sheriff's department to investigate, and we did what we needed to do. It's up to the prosecutors to prosecute," Horton said. "Cruelty to animals is something I just can't tolerate. I don't know what to say other than I'm disappointed."
Romanzi’s defense attorney, Jennifer Brunetti, was not available for comment.
Andrew Nash can be reached at andrew.nash@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 ext. 132.
GIRARD —
