Judge lets dogfighting case go to jurors

Dogfighting charges in a trial that a Spokane judge said has been marked by largely circumstantial evidence were allowed to go to a jury Tuesday over the objections of defense attorneys.

Peter S. Nelson, 24, and Alfredo L. Renteria, 26, are charged with animal fighting, transporting animals in an unsafe manner and operating an unlicensed kennel at 8006 E. Utah Ave. in Spokane Valley. Renteria is also charged with one count of animal cruelty for allegedly beating a pit bull.

As testimony wrapped up Tuesday, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen said she’d “struggled” over the three-day weekend as she anticipated a motion for dismissal by defense attorneys in the first dogfighting trial in Spokane County.

“This is a case wholly made up of circumstantial evidence,” Eitzen said. But she decided she’d be substituting her personal feelings for jury deliberations if she dismissed the case.

“There’s enough here for the jury to make a decision,” Eitzen said, denying the defense motion.

In closing arguments, Deputy Prosecutor Steve Garvin asked the jury to look at the “big picture” when they review the evidence.

He held up a photo of tattoos on Nelson’s back that show two pit bulls in a fight.

Another piece of evidence is a notebook found in the garage of the house Nelson was renting from Renteria that shows training logs for fighting dogs.

“At the end of the day, circumstantial or not, these pieces of evidence point the finger of guilt at these two men,” Garvin said.

Assistant Public Defender Matt Harget, Nelson’s attorney, and Scott Hill, Renteria’s private attorney, told the jury the state has no direct evidence to implicate their clients in dogfighting.

A witness for the state who said she saw a “hairy” and shirtless man striking a pit bull with a pipe in the backyard of the home owned by Renteria misidentified him, Hill said. After her testimony last week, Hill had Renteria take off his shirt to show the jury he wasn’t hairy.

Nelson’s tattoos “only show an interest in the history of dogfighting,” Harget said.

“It’s like a skull and crossbones. That doesn’t prove someone wants to be a pirate,” Harget added.