Warren man pleads guilty to starving three dogs, one of whom died

Staff report

WARREN

Rashod M. Brown Sr., 39, of Idylwild Street, will be sentenced in about five weeks afer pleading guilty in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to starving three dogs last September, one of which died.

Brown pleaded guilty to three counts of prohibitions concerning companion animals, the animal-cruelty law that went into effect in late 2016 sometimes known as Goddard’s Law.

Chuck Morrow, assistant county prosecutor, said the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County responded to Brown’s home on a complaint and investigated.

A necropsy done on the dog that died indicated that it had acorns and grass in its stomach, Morrow said.

Judge Peter Kontos could order Brown to be prohibited from owning an animal for a specified or indefinite period.

Brown’s indictment says all three dogs were pit-bull mixed terriers. Brown could get up to a year in prison or probation for the dog that died and jail time for the two other charges, which are misdemeanors.

Meanwhile, Judge Kontos sentenced Stefan M. Steen, 19, of Warren-Sharon Road in Vienna to eight years in prison after Steen pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition for offenses committed against a girl, 15, during the summer and fall 2017.