La Pine area man may not be fit to proceed in his animal abuse case, says public defender; hearing rescheduled for October 6th
(Update: Hearing delayed; new hearing date set)
LA PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Monday afternoon, a Deschutes County judge rescheduled John Coe Richardson's trial after his defense claimed he was unfit to stand trial. The hearing was rescheduled pending an evaluation. His new hearing is scheduled for October 6th at 10am.
A La Pine area man seen in a viral video hitting his 5-pound chihuahua Hooch with a shovel may not be fit to stand trial, according to his public defender, and will undergo an evaluation before his September 8th hearing.
John Coe Richardson of La Pine suffered severe brain injuries and PTSD during his time as a Marine combat veteran in the Vietnam War.
Because of these injuries, his lawyer said it's also crucial that he gets two of the three dogs seized from him - Paco and Evie.
They believe Richardson took great care of the two dogs, and they helped him with his PTSD.
KTVZ News broke this story in April and spoke exclusively with John's neighbor, Steven, who filmed the video. Despite it going viral for a week and drawing outrage online, no action was taken by the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office.
Steven said in an interview at the time, "They just tried to de-escalate the situation, talk to him, told him this isn't what you're supposed to do to a dog, and end of story."
With nowhere to turn, Steven contacted KTVZ News, and the story aired on our 11 PM broadcast that night.
Then, 16 hours later, Richardson was arrested outside the La Pine Post Office. Exclusive video shared with KTVZ News also shows his dogs, including Hooch, being seized from him
KTVZ News has also uncovered that Richardson is a convicted sex offender. In 1995, he admitted to a felony sexual assault against a minor in the State of Montana.
The conviction came with a 20-year prison sentence, but the judge suspended all but 70 days - as long as he entered rehab and followed his probation.
Richardson is not a level 3 sex offender, so you will not find him in Oregon's registry.
A hearing is set for September 8th to see if he's fit to proceed.
