- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Clearlake man acquitted of animal cruelty in case involving dead dog found alongside highway
James Harley Thomas Miranda, 40, was found not guilty on all counts – animal cruelty by torture and being under the influence of methamphetamine.
Miranda was very relieved by the verdict, said his attorney, Andrea Sullivan.
While Miranda was found not guilty by the jury, Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson said he admitted to having smoked methamphetamine in the hours after his dog died, which constituted a violation of his probation. However, he will not need to spend more time in jail.
Miranda was the focus of a social media firestorm in September after a picture of his dead dog Cocoa – tied to a hand truck and left along the side of Highway 53 – began to circulate on Facebook and went viral.
A man who drove by and saw Cocoa – on the side of Highway 53 between Olympic Drive and the area of Lakeshore and 40th – reported the dog’s death, took its picture and posted the picture online.
Miranda, who testified both at his November preliminary hearing and in his trial, said both he and his dog had been hit by a vehicle and he was trying to get her somewhere to find help. She was in pain and biting at him and so he said he also muzzled her.
He said he had drug Cocoa – tied to the dolly – for about a mile and a half. By the time he left her to go to ask for help from his parents and their neighbors, she had died.
He said when he returned, he saw a Clearlake Animal Control officer – Melinda Wymer, who had responded to the call of the dead dog – driving away in her truck after having picked up Cocoa’s body.
Clearlake Police Officer Mark Harden arrested Miranda the following morning after recognizing Cocoa – a chocolate Labrador Retriever and red-nosed pit bull mix – from the picture, because he and Miranda had fought weeks before during an illegal camping call. He said during that confrontation Cocoa had attacked his police K9.
Miranda’s four-day trial, presided over by retired Judge David Herrick, started last week, with the bulk of the evidence presented last Thursday. Closing arguments took place this Thursday, with jury beginning deliberations late in the morning.
The jury deliberated for about an hour and a half – including rewatching two videos, one a Clearlake Police officer’s body cam, before he was read his rights, and the second when Miranda was in a holding cell, after his rights had been read to him, Sullivan said.
Neither Abelson nor Sullivan spoke with jurors about their decision to acquit Miranda.
However, both acknowledged that a key piece of evidence in the case was a necropsy, an examination of Cocoa’s body. That evidence was first presented at the preliminary hearing.
Miranda had told authorities that while he was walking along the highway early on the morning of Sept. 11 with Cocoa at his side, without a leash – he said he had trained her to stay right by his side – that both he and the dog had been hit by a car.
“At the beginning, nobody believed him,” said Sullivan, noting the dog had no outward injuries.
Abelson said that, initially, they didn't know how Cocoa had died. The Clearlake Police Department then got an expert to do the necropsy.
“It turns out that she was hit by a car,” said Abelson.
The necropsy found that Cocoa had internal injuries consistent with having been hit by a vehicle. Her hindquarters had fractures and her death was given as hemorrhage associated with blunt force trauma.
Both the defense and prosecution agreed to the findings in the necropsy, and stipulated to have it entered into evidence.
Sullivan said that at trial the claim that Miranda had simply left his dog to go use methamphetamine was “thoroughly debunked.”
Miranda, who had testified to being distraught by Cocoa’s death, admitted that about an hour after he saw his dog’s body being taken by animal control he smoked meth and also got very drunk, Sullivan said.
During the preliminary hearing some people who had come to watch the proceedings had to be warned repeatedly for outbursts in the court. Abelson and Sullivan said they were prepared for that this time, with the judge admonishing one outburst during the trial.
Overall, there weren’t any problems with outbursts during the trial like there had been at the preliminary hearing, Sullivan said.
At trial, a new piece of evidence the defense presented related to the availability of veterinary care for the injured Cocoa.
The prosecution argued that Miranda failed to get the dog to a vet to humanely euthanize her. In response, Sullivan presented a receptionist from Clearlake Veterinary Clinic on Emerson Street – the closest vet clinic to where Cocoa was injured – that the clinic wasn’t open until later in the morning and would have required payment up front.
Sullivan said even had Miranda been able to get his injured dog to the vet, the vet didn’t have an obligation to treat Cocoa.
“It comes down to whether or not he caused further suffering by what he did,” said Abelson. “It kind of cuts both ways.”
Abelson added, “He loved his dog, there’s no doubt about it.”
While Miranda was trying to get Cocoa help, “I think he caused further suffering because of his actions,” said Abelson, adding she didn’t believe he was doing it intentionally but still believed there was negligence.
Had he gotten the dog to the vet, “I think the dog would have died anyway,” Abelson said.
The other things that both prosecution and defense appeared to agree on are that Miranda had recently fallen on hard times, had been temporarily homeless and was transient.
His criminal history – including the fight with the officer ahead of Cocoa’s death – also was fairly recent, they said.
Both Abelson and Sullivan acknowledged that the social media reaction to the case had heightened the emotional response.
During jury selection, people acknowledged having heard about the case, and only two prospective jurors were dismissed after they said they had seen information about Miranda online and believed he was guilty.
One of the important factors in the case was to let the judge or a jury decide it, said Abelson, noting they worked hard to keep the influences of social media out of the courtroom.
“It wasn’t trial by Facebook,” she said.
Miranda had remained in jail since his arrest. By day’s end, Lake County Jail booking records indicated he had been released.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
