MAHONING COURT Shelter seeks to block lion's release

The judge who made the order has refused to stay its execution.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A lawyer for a local animal sanctuary is seeking to block the release of a male lion on the grounds it would create a danger to the public.
Atty. Michael J. O'Shea of Cleveland, who represents Noah's Lost Ark, this morning sought a stay of a judge's order Friday to release Boomerang.
Visiting Judge Charles A. Bannon of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court ruled Friday that the lion was to be released to William Long of Upper Arlington, a Columbus suburb. O'Shea this morning asked Bannon to stay execution of his order, but Bannon refused.
O'Shea also appealed the ruling to the Seventh District Court of Appeals. He also asked the appellate court to stay execution of Bannon's order. It hasn't ruled on either request.
O'Shea said he was trying to prevent a risk to the public, since Boomerang is "large and dangerous."
Saturday attempt
The lawyer said he understood there was an attempt to collect the lion Saturday and take it to Columbus where ownership is illegal.
Long has said he bought the then-lion cub on behalf of New York Post reporter Al Guart for a story on the sale of exotic animals. Guart testified he planned to take it to Shambala, a shelter in California, but instead dropped it off at the sanctuary in Berlin Township last October.
Mahoning County deputy sheriffs served a judgment entry this morning ordering the owners of Noah's Lost Ark to return Boomerang. The order was tacked to a door because no one answered, said Maj. Michael Budd.
"We won't seize the lion. We have no legal authority to do that," Budd said. Before officers would take possession of the animal, he said, the court would need to issue a writ of replevin.
Long said his lawyer filed an answer this morning to the one filed on behalf of the sanctuary seeking to block release of the lion. He said it's a step-by-step process that could end today if the judge rules in his favor.