Dog allegedly dumped by landlord is found
APataskala landlord apparently created his own strict, impromptu, no-pet policy.
Even though he does not have a pet policy in place, 58-year-old James Helfrich is accused of entering the garage of his rental property on Hollow Road and stealing Frank, a hound-shepherd mix, according to police reports.
Helfrich drove about 10 miles away to New Albany and dumped Frank, a rescue dog who belongs to his tenant’s sister, according to the report. The incident unfolded two days after Christmas. Helfrich was uncooperative with police in locating the dog.
“I tried to appeal to Mr. Helfrich’s sensibilities and asked, if he took the dog and dropped it somewhere, just tell me so I could look for him (the temperature at the time the dog was let out of the garage was 9 degrees. At the time Mr. Helfrich and I spoke, it was 6 degrees,)” wrote Pataskala Police Officer Anthony Wisniewski in a report.
The tenant told police he contacted Helfrich before his sister visited with her two dogs and asked for permission to keep the dogs in the garage. Both agreed to that, according to the report. A video showed two dogs leaving through the main garage door and following Helfrich south of the garage. Helfrich is seen in his truck heading west. He lives east of the property.
A good Samaritan found Frank wandering in traffic and took him to a veterinary clinic. He posted an ad on Craiglist saying he had found a dog. Luckily, the tenant and his sister responded.
“I can’t put a price on him. My dogs aren’t just dogs, they are family members,” the woman wrote in a police report.
Helfrich faces charges of theft and criminal trespass. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 19 in Licking County Municipal Court.
Brandt first of many
The retirement last week of Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Michael T. Brandt is just the beginning of the experienced members of the judiciary who will be stepping down from the Franklin County bench because of an age restriction for judges.
The three longest-serving county Common Pleas judges — David E. Cain, Guy L. Reece and Charles A. Schneider — all are entering their last year on the bench because of a state law that prohibits a person from being on the judicial ballot after turning 70, according to Dispatch Courts Reporter John Futty.
Also being forced into retirement is Franklin County Appeals Court Judge Gary Tyack.
None can be on the ballot to seek re-election this year.
“It’s a significant loss,” Schneider said. “We’re losing a lot of institutional knowledge.”
He estimated that the four judges have a combined 200 years of legal experience and 75 years of judicial experience.
Schneider said he would have run for re-election if the law allowed it. Brandt said the same thing before his retirement became official on Jan. 3.