Westport man sentenced after animal control incident

The man was convicted and sentenced in Westport District Court. Photo / File

A Westport man who lost control during an incident with animal control has been ordered to pay for the damage he caused.

Dylan Hartley, 23, was convicted and sentenced in Westport District Court yesterday. His lawyer, Mark Dollimore said Hartley "lost his cool" last month when an animal control officer stepped in to deal with his dog, which had been roaming the streets and terrorising people.

Hartley pleaded guilty to charges of wilful damage and driving while disqualified.

Police prosecutor Steve Greer said the Buller District Council received complaints on April 17 of a white American pitbull terrier on the loose and causing trouble. An animal control officer followed the dog back to Hartley's house, where he arrived shortly after.

Hartley was irate and deliberately drove into the left-hand-side of the officer's vehicle more than once, Mr Greer said. He later calmed down and realised she was just doing her job. By then, the officer had called the police, who discovered Hartley had driven on a disqualified licence.

Mr Dollimore said Hartley and his partner thought the dog, named Chaos, was secured. Hartley believed someone had let the dog out.

Hartley had worked a solid 23 hours prior to the incident and was under considerable stress at work, Mr Dollimore said. "He had all this stuff coming at him."

His partner usually drove him to work but, earlier that day, he had received an urgent call to fix some broken-down machinery. He made the decision to drive himself, Mr Dollimore said.

Judge Noel Walsh gave Hartley credit for his immediate guilty plea, for his apology to the animal control officer and for his preparedness to pay for the damage he caused to the officer's vehicle.

He told Hartley his actions frightened the officer, who justifiably went to the police.

Despite Hartley's prior convictions, including one for driving, it was obvious he was trying to turn his life around, Judge Walsh said.

For wilful damage, he fined Hartley $300 and ordered him to pay $1400.77 in reparations to the district council. For driving while disqualified, Hartley was fined court costs only and disqualified from driving for a further six months starting on May 5.

- Westport News