SEQUIM — The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office will submit a Sequim animal abuse case to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office this week for review, according to the chief criminal deputy.
The Sheriff’s Office has been investigating allegations of animal abuse at a property southwest of Sequim for the past several weeks after being contacted by neighbors who reported several animal carcasses left to rot on the premises.
Their owner, John Dashti, 61, could face charges of animal cruelty in the second degree — a misdemeanor — based on the investigation to date, said Brian King, chief criminal deputy for the Sheriff’s Office.
“How many counts will be based on collaborative discussion of the evidence,” King said.
Dashti has not been arrested or charged.
Animal cruelty in the second degree is knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence inflicting unnecessary suffering or pain upon an animal under circumstances not amounting to first-degree animal cruelty, according to state statutes.
If charged and convicted of the misdemeanor, Dashti could receive a fine of up to $1,000 and be jailed for up to 90 days, according to the statutes.
Felony charges of animal abuse in the first degree possibly could be added in connection with the death of a pig on Dashti’s property, King said.
Investigators are awaiting the results from the necropsy of the pig, which will be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office in the near future.
“Lab results are still out on the pig, and we don’t have good direction on how long the labs will take from the vet,” King said.
Animal cruelty in the first degree is intentionally inflicting substantial pain, causing physical injury or killing an animal by a means causing undue suffering, according to state statutes.
If charged and convicted of a felony, Dashti could receive a fine up to $20,000 and be jailed for up to 10 years.
In late June, law enforcement officials confiscated nearly all of Dashti’s livestock.
On June 24, officials seized four goats, two donkeys and two sheep because of parasitic load, malnourishment, lack of basic care and unsanitary conditions, King said.
On June 29, law enforcement returned to the property to confiscate two pigs, a Bernese mountain dog, 12 rabbits, various chickens and about 60 quail.
Those animals had been left behind during the initial seizure because a veterinarian on-site issued them a clean bill of health and deputies ensured they had adequate access to food and water.
That changed when one of Dashti’s three pigs died.
The dead pig established a basis for seizing the remaining animals, even though there was no outward sign of neglect, King said.
The pig carcass was removed by law enforcement.
The seized animals are being cared for at the nonprofit Center Valley Animal Rescue near Quilcene.
The case will be submitted to the prosecutor’s office after veterinarian reports on the living animals are completed this week, King said.
Dashti, a native of Iran who has been a permanent legal resident of the U.S. since 1979, said he did not mistreat his animals.
He believes the pig was poisoned by those who want to see him off his property on Serenity Lane and blames the deaths of some of the other animals on falling trees and grass tainted by fuel and fertilizer.
Others he killed to eat, he said.
Dashti left the carcasses untouched to provide food for carrion birds, he said.
Before the seizures, deputies visited the property daily to encourage Dashti to take better care of his animals, King said.
Dashti is facing foreclosure and has until Friday to respond to a lawsuit filed by his bank seeking to evict him.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
