"The Alameda County District Attorney's Office this week unexpectedly dropped its case against a man charged in the 2024 fatal mauling of his good friend by three, 100-pound dogs. Deputy District Attorney Michiye Vella cited a lack of sufficient evidence in asking a judge on Monday to dismiss the case against the dogs' owner, Brendan Burke, according to court documents."
"The bar to prove those claims at the preliminary hearing, however, is lower than what prosecutors would have faced before a jury. This week, Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson defended the decision to drop the case. Although the loss of Mr. Holguin is a tragic event that leaves us all saddened, upon careful evaluation of the facts and the law, we cannot prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, Jones Dickson said."
Alameda County prosecutors dismissed charges against Brendan Burke in the fatal mauling of Robert Holguin after Deputy District Attorney Michiye Vella cited insufficient evidence and requested dismissal. The judge approved the motion the same day Burke was scheduled to stand trial on a felony count of failing to control animals that killed a human. Holguin, 53, had been periodically staying at Burke's East Oakland property when three 100-pound dogs fatally mauled him. Holguin's brother expressed anguish and questioned what justice would look like. Prosecutors concluded they could not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]