Alto woman seeks justice against teenage neighbor

LUFKIN — Grace Briseno Sharp has seen two of her family's pets killed right before her eyes. Not by a wild animal — but, she says, by a 13-year-old neighbor who used a pit bull and a 12-gauge shotgun.

The Alto woman is determined to seek justice against the boy and return to her country "dream" house even though Cherokee County officials do not plan on pursuing animal cruelty charges.

Jessica Savage/The Lufkin Daily News (enlarge photo) Grace Sharp kneels before the gravesite of her daughter's one-year-old cat, Tetsu, who was allegedly shot and killed by a 13-year-old neighbor Jan. 4. Tetsu is buried next to the grave of their cat Sally, who was allegedly killed by the neighbor's pit bull a year ago. Jessica Savage/The Lufkin Daily News (enlarge photo) Neighbors Casey and Melissa Wood posted a no-trespassing sign recently at the entrance of their driveway following a recent problem of alleged trespassing by their 13-year-old son onto the Sharps' property.

"At this point in time I am limited on what I can say, but there has not been an arrest and there will not be an arrest," said John Burns, chief of the Cherokee County Juvenile Probation Department.

Sharp said she was in her back yard on Jan. 4 with Tetsu — her teenage daughter's 1-year-old male black cat. After the cat wandered off a few yards on the lawn, Sharp heard gunshots. According to Sharp, she turned and saw the boy standing on her property, shotgun in hand and a pit bull by his side, Tetsu lying on the ground, lifeless.

Startled by the noise, Sharp's ex-husband Brian walked outside, followed by Frosty, the family's 13-year-old dog. As the two neared, the pit bull began attacking Frosty, Grace said.

Brian Sharp tried several times to break up the fight and was bitten by the pit bull, severely injuring his hand, he said. He said he asked the boy to call off his dog, but the boy did not. Sharp went inside for a gun, and when he came back, the dogs were in the swimming pool.

He shot the pit bull dead, filling the pool with blood.

Grace Sharp called the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, who sent a deputy to her house to look into what happened. The deputy took pictures, surveyed the area and interviewed the Sharps, the boy and his parents.

Casey and Melissa Wood, the boy's parents, did not return a phone call for comment from The Lufkin Daily News.

Family looking for justice

Grace Sharp, who has moved into a Lufkin apartment complex with her daughter, said she is determined to have justice.

After the alleged attack, Frosty suffered a broken jaw and a possibly fractured spine, said Anthony Holcomb, veterinarian at Cherokee Animal Clinic in Rusk. A necropsy performed on the cat recovered three of several buckshots from the body.

"It's definitely a very sad situation for the cat to be shot by someone," Holcomb said.

An investigator with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office would not comment on details of the case, saying he has turned it over to the county attorney.

"There was a criminal investigation conducted, and the results have been turned over to (the county attorney). My investigation has been closed," said Cpl. Darrell Schimnowski.

A report given to the Sharps from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office states the case was referred to the county attorney and juvenile probation department. The county attorney is responsible for all juvenile cases.

Cherokee County Attorney Craig Caldwell declined to comment on the case, and faxed to the newspaper a copy of the Texas Family Code, which protects juvenile cases from public disclosure.

Burns, who oversees juvenile probation in Cherokee County, said his department straddles what is best for all parties.

"In some cases what's best for the child outweighs what's best for victim," Burns said. "In this case, the child has already been traumatized by the situation."

Burns declined to elaborate or talk about specifics, saying he is limited in what he can say because of the boy's age.

"There are other allegations that happened during that whole situation that affected the child, but I am not at liberty to discuss those," he said. "Informally, (the case) is still going on," he said.

No legal action has been taken against the boy.

History of torment

Brian Sharp, who has teeth mark scars on his right hand, said the experience has made him nervous.

"If I hear a noise at night, I jump up, grab the gun and run out there," he said. "I don't know what to expect anymore."

The Jan. 4 incident is not the first problem the Sharps say they have encountered with their 13-year-old neighbor.

Grace Sharp said three years ago the boy allegedly set fire to several bales of hay on their property. She said she chose not to file charges because it was the first incident. Kids will be kids, she said.

The following year, she said, the boy brought the family pit bull onto Sharp's property, allegedly ordering it to attack her daughter's Persian cat, Sally, in the yard.

"It tore the cat to pieces in front of me," she said. "I screamed for (the boy) to do something, and he just watched."

Sharp and her daughter buried both Sally and Tetsu under a favorite tree in their back yard.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a national animal activist organization, said the boy should have been charged with a crime.

"The boy's alleged actions would seem to merit his being charged with two state jail felonies — cruelty to animal charges: one for causing a dog to fight with another animal, and the second for killing a companion animal of another person," said Dan Paden, PETA research and projects specialist.

But Sharp said she does not want the teen to serve jail time. She said she would rather see him serve probation or community service.

"I don't want to put this boy in jail. I want justice," she said.

Paden said elected officials and law enforcement who do not pursue charges can cause other taxpaying citizens to lose faith in the justice system. "When animal advocates, locally and nationally, see that unexplained time lapse, they lose faith in local judicial system because calls go unanswered or it takes a long time," he said.

Sharp, a Polish-born American citizen, said the apathy of her local law enforcement and prosecutors is something she would have expected in her birth country, not America.

"Can you believe I came from a Communist country to this country and there is no law here?"