Jury says Dooley guilty of animal cruelty

Just a few minutes into its second day of deliberation, a Lake County jury found Elvin Dooley guilty of animal cruelty for shooting a dog.

The jury of seven men and five women found Dooley, 57, of unincorporated Grayslake, not guilty of the more serious charge of animal torture after a three-day trial.

A misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals that the jury had the option to consider if it found Dooley not guilty of both felonies did not come into play in the case.

Dooley, whose bond was increased from $250,000 to $400,000, will be facing a maximum of three years in prison when he returns to court June 21 for sentencing.

Had he been convicted of animal torture, the maximum sentence would have been five years in prison.

Dooley shot a small dog that had been abandoned in the parking lot of the Save A Pet animal shelter near Grayslake but ran away from staff members trying to get the dog inside.

Dana Deutsch, manager of Save A Pet, had just seen the dog running in a field near Dooley's house in the 24000 block of Townline Road and saw Dooley fire the shot that killed the dog.

"This verdict does not make me happy, I have nothing against that man," Deutsch said. "But people have to realize that animals have feelings and the right to be alive and hopefully this will open some eyes."

Deutsch loaded the wounded dog, which had been shot through the neck, into her car and drove it to an emergency animal hospital but the dog died on the way.

Deutsch said she named the dog Justice before she had it cremated and keeps the dog's ashes in her home.

Assistant Public Defenders LaTonya Burton and Sharmila Manak argued that although Deutsch had seen their client firing a rifle out a window of his house, she could not be certain that he was firing at the dog.

Assistant State's Attorney Raquel Robles-Eschbach thanked the jury, which deliberated for more than seven hours Thursday before returning to the courthouse Friday and conferring for less than 30 minutes.

"Justice got his Justice today," she said. "We hope that this sends a message to people that wanton acts of cruelty will not be tolerated."

Dooley is still facing a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon based on the 17 firearms he told police he owns and a 1978 conviction for burglary in Alabama.

In addition, he is charged with possessing those weapons without a valid state Firearm Owner's Identification card.

Those cases are scheduled to go to trial July 16.