Local News

Man convicted of killing police dog, faces life in prison

Guilty verdict in fatal shooting of Dakota is Chenette’s third strike

Friday, November 14 | 10:11 p.m.

BY STEPHANIE RICE
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

Ronald Chenette of Brush Prairie was convicted Friday of fatally shooting police dog Dakota. (The Columbian/ N. Scott Trimble)

A Brush Prairie man was convicted Friday of killing a police tracking dog.

Ronald J. Chenette, 39, will be sentenced Dec. 1.

But there’s no suspense over what the sentence will be, as killing Dakota, a 5-year-old German shepherd owned by the Vancouver Police Department, counts as Chenette’s third strike.

Chenette, whose prior strikes are for second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a drug dealer and for second-degree assault, will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Chenette showed no reaction when Judge Roger Bennett read the verdict, said Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson.

The jury of seven women and five men deliberated approximately two hours after listening to attorneys make closing arguments Friday morning.

The trial began Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court.

Chenette became the subject of a police search Oct. 23, 2007, after his friend called 911 and said Chenette was armed and threatening to kill police. Deputies from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office surrounded a wooded area behind Bethel Cemetery while a SWAT team, including dog Dakota, went into the woods. Facing a steep gully that would have been difficult for the two-legged officers to navigate, Dakota was sent in. Soon, officers heard a gunshot.

Chenette came out of the woods and was taken down by Akbar, a dog owned by the sheriff’s office.

Court-appointed defense attorney Jeff Barrar tried to make the case that Chenette, a paranoid schizophrenic who was not taking his medicine, did not realize Dakota was a police dog and fired in self-defense.

Officers testified that a public address system on a SWAT van was used to call out to Chenette to try to get him to come out of the woods, and Officer Roger Evans, Dakota’s handler, testified he shouted out a warning before releasing Dakota.

Chenette did not testify, so jurors did not hear his criminal history or know he was facing his third strike.

By itself, the crime of harming a police dog, a class C felony, isn’t a strike. But prosecutors filed a firearms enhancement for using a gun and that elevated the crime to a strike.

Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4549 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.

by dee little : 11/14/08 3:07pm - Report Abuse

I hope this lessens Evans' pain.

by Roger Wilco : 11/14/08 4:01pm - Report Abuse

Well, I hate that my taxes will keep this useless garbage alive for years to come, maybe we'll get lucky and someone in the joint will give him a Colombian necktie party. It is a indictment of society though, that it took three such strikes to accomplish this. Criminals have too many rights.

by John Mills : 11/14/08 4:49pm - Report Abuse

Law and order - the prison will force this cretin to take his drugs and then he will find God and start his own ministry so he can tell everyone that it was not he that killed the dog, but Satan. Good bye and the worst of luck to you, Mr. Chenette...

by Rip Torn : 11/14/08 7:39pm - Report Abuse

He deserves no less for killing Dakota.

by turkey lurker : 11/14/08 10:23pm - Report Abuse

Good Riddance!

by Lulu Sagan : 11/14/08 10:43pm - Report Abuse

happened again...The Columbian wants you to love attack dogs.

by Jim Bean : 11/15/08 8:53am - Report Abuse

That "Attack dog" with out a doubt saved a law enforcement officers life that day, but I doubt that matters to Lulu.

by human being : 11/15/08 11:31am - Report Abuse

and we do,

LULU

WE DO

by diane mcgill : 11/15/08 4:53pm - Report Abuse

Lulu is stupid

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 6:21pm - Report Abuse

lu-lu

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 6:37pm - Report Abuse

Lets think a moment...If the dog arived prior to police, and the officer testified to this himself, there is reason to believe it was "Unanounced."
Therefore to the assailant, this may appear to be nothing more than a viscous dog attack. Not uncommon, in todays news, with the ever growing news of pit-bull attacks unprevoked.
Also... a person kept in a mental institution, and medicated on anti-psycotics, is in no sense of the word "Mentally Capable of standing trial"
After all, it is already established that the crime of harming a police dog, is no in fact a "Strike." I feel this is and should be a state liability error. This man is diagnosed criminally insane, considering his prior record. This person should have been in the care of qualified professionals as he is a risk to society. But I feel the conviction is just an attemp by the state of washington to distract the people from noticing its inability to "Protect And Serve" responsibly or this crime would have never taken place.
"Are you all convinced this will satisfy you....Are we simply SHEEP?

by Ralph Berry : 11/15/08 6:55pm - Report Abuse

Perhaps your attitude would change if a guy with mental problems like Chenette moved in next door to you. Then you could experience first hand how the system works!

by Sue Chenette : 11/15/08 7:16pm - Report Abuse

Before Mr. Berry spouts his mouth off about having Mr. Chenette as a neighbor perhaps he should ask them. I have yet to hear a bad word about him from anyone that knows him. All his neighbors know him as a friendly & helpful guy. Maybe you should bash Rodger Evans for not doing his job as a dog handler and pulling the dog off like he is supposed to do, if he had done so, then NONE of this would have happened! and Dakota would still BE alive! and Mr. Chenette wouldn't be UNFAIRLY facing life in prison!!!!!

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 7:36pm - Report Abuse

Im afraid this case in it self is a poor example of just that...our "SYSTEM" not working.
If our system was a success, this person would have been remanded to a state facility "western state hospital" upon the determination of his incapacity, following the previous convictions, and we, as a community would have never remained at risk, pending a third strike.
Perhaps someone in our "SYSTEM AT WORK" dropped the ball releasing a "Criminally Insane" repeat offender back onto the streets, A.K.A. "Next Door To You And Me." This is exactly what took place.
And somehow this doesn't frighten you. Perhaps it is hard to see through the "Smoke and Mirrors" that have your attention, in light of what the system is providing with this verdict, and we can "sleep well tonight" knowing that "One" of the obvious psycopaths, waiting to commit a third strike, is in jail. Therefore in an effort to avoid insomnia, lets forget all about the "Ones" who also may be a danger to you and me, who go unmonitored, or free into the community despite "A violant criminal background, and a mental diagnosis, which "Leaves the criminal, Un-Able to control his violant behavior, at the hand of the "SYSTEM"

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 7:55pm - Report Abuse

also, as far as the enhancement, for including a weapon, this is entirly designeds for idiots. how may he have harmed the dog that would have resulten un-violently? Thats as if the state were saying, " we couldn't convict him by leagal mean therfore we had to resort to un constitutional methods... and you people are eating it up!

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 8:08pm - Report Abuse

Your not realizing, By releasing this man, back into society, after his last conviction, instead of remanding him into a state mental facility, due to his criminal history v.s. his mental diagnostics, as a responsile judge, might have done, Dakota, the police, and ourselves would have remained "protected and served."

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 8:19pm - Report Abuse

SUE CHENETTE, APPEAL THIS CONVICTION!!!!

by Sue Chenette : 11/15/08 8:32pm - Report Abuse

Don't worry, We fully intend to!!!!

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 9:00pm - Report Abuse

Also...IT is obvious that the officer was "NOT" in control of his K-9.
Could that dog have "attacked" an innocent bystander, such as a child instead if mr chenette? Wheres the liability insurance policy for the use of this K-9. and would it be at jepardy, if the company providing insurance for the whole K-9 department were aware of this irresponsible practice, on the part of the officer?
release a viscous animal into a wooded area, unsure of whom might be attacked by this dog, and if this were to take place, and a neighbor weeding his yard were leaped on and attacked, would he be justified in shooting the viscous animal?
And perhaps that neighbor was in fact mr. chenette

by Sue Chenette : 11/15/08 9:05pm - Report Abuse

Too bad that we weren't able to bring up the fact that not long after all this happened that Rodger Evens assaulted a good citizen & business man of Clark county with a gun as well as intimidated a store full of people including children. And all because he didn't like the way his jerky was seasoned??? He wasn't arrested, it was swept under the rug by the Clark county sheriff's department. He claimed that he "feared" for his life because the owner handed him his box of meat. This is the kind of loose cannon that we have running around with a gun legally. Maybe next time he'll kill someone because they didn't clean his windshield good enough, or some such trivial reason. Ronald Chenette endured a horrible dog attack for 2-3 minutes and tried every means to stop the attack before resorting to the gun. He feared for his own life, there wasn't anyone there to stop the attack. So anyone out there who thinks that they could endure such a dog attack has never been bitten by a dog before.

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 9:14pm - Report Abuse

clear case of self defense, irresponsibility by the "SYSTEM", and unconstitutional behavior.
Not to mention bending laws to produce a certain outcome is also criminal.

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 9:33pm - Report Abuse

Using an animal, a creature unable to deduce reason, such as a K-9, into criminal science,
is as iresponsible as
using an animal, again a creature unable to deduce reason, such as a leach, into medical science.....
Ya jus dont know what yur gonna git.
Outcome: Huge Liability Risk!!!!

by Sue Chenette : 11/15/08 9:38pm - Report Abuse

Another point is the fact that Richard Countryman (AKA J.R.), Ron's "good" friend had the gun at his house when he called 911 to say that Ron had the gun and wanted to shoot a cop, then came back to where Ron was sound asleep and shook him awake and gave him the gun so they could sell it in Brush Prairie then calmly walked Ron up the train tracks into a police ambush. This is after a drunken arguement earlier so he could effectivly use the Clark county sheriff's department to get back at Ron. Why he wasn't charged with supplying a firearm to a felon is beyond us.

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 9:51pm - Report Abuse

If any one of you were attacked by this animal, your natural instinct would be simply, "Save your own life at any cost to the animal."
And for this your willing to pay for a "Life Sentance" in revenue?
Are ya sure this man wasn't left but only two choices that day.
1. to die at the "teeth" of this viscous animal,
or
2. to be sentanced to life in prison for protecting his own life, at the cost of life of a service animal.

Now I may be all wet here, but if you ask me,
it seems as if mr chenettes outcome here was the same from his point of veiw,
although, from that of the lynch mob so easily satisfied in this simple conviction,
Mr chenette picked the lesser of two evil's, when two evils were all he had to choose from...
and with a K-9 on his tale, I assure you, he had little time to make that decision...that clearly constitutes DURESS.

by Sue Chenette : 11/15/08 10:14pm - Report Abuse

Another thing that should be mentioned is the fact that the cops claimed that he was only bitten twice, why wasn't the horrible bite on his side mentioned? It was a wonder that it didn't get his kidney. And to think that when the dog was released to attack him, he had absolutly NO charges against him. NONE!!! This was stated in police communications that day, THAT HE HAD NOT COMMITED ANY CRIMES! Only simple warrants issued only two days before this incident, with no attempt to serve them.

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 10:15pm - Report Abuse

And with that said, "Poetic Just lays the sword at his feet, mounts his hors and rides galantly into the sunset......

by Sue Chenette : 11/15/08 10:23pm - Report Abuse

Good night PJ it's good to see that someone has some sense on here!!!

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 10:24pm - Report Abuse

And with that said, "Poetic Justice lays the sword at his feet, mounts his horse and rides galantly into the sunset......

by poetic justice : 11/15/08 10:37pm - Report Abuse

and crime elevation...what idiot thought this up?

by Walter Johnson : 11/17/08 3:32pm - Report Abuse

I take no joy in this man's coming sentence because it will cost we taxpayers at least $2,000,000 to keep this man in prison to the average life expectancy. On all these third strike cases we need to do a post-sentence evaluation of what could have been done, if anything, to have diverted this man from a life of crime.

I also have to wonder when people repeatedly commit crimes if society isn't given them a real work alternative. There is only so long people can get by with no income. The other possibility is that some people simply feel more comfortable in jail without the worries of health care costs, food and housing.

by Shar Ferguson : 11/21/08 6:58pm - Report Abuse

I was in Vancouver when this happened and it was so blown out of proportion by the media. And it was a total blunder by the police department you couldnt even understand what the police were saying the officer lost control of the dog and no the dog was not anounced. If I was in the woods and all of a sudden was attacked by a unmarked dog I would have shot also. Lets be honest so woiuld have you. It does not matter what your past was in this situation being attacked you defend youself