“We are very pleased in this case; justice has been served,” Montgomery County assistant prosecutor Lynda Dodd said. “The family’s been waiting a long time for this verdict and we hope they find peace.”
Hardy faces a maximum of 11 years in prison on the most serious counts. Besides two misdemeanor and two felony involuntary manslaughter charges, Hardy also was found guilty of failure to confine or restrain a vicious dog and endangering children.
Defense attorneys Angelina Jackson and Susan Souther declined to comment after the verdicts were read.
Closing arguments took place Friday morning in the courtroom of Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Wiseman.
Montgomery County assistant prosecutor Karen Groseth told jurors that Kimiko Hardy showed “heedless indifference” in death of 7-month-old Johnathan Quarles Jr. “This baby deserves justice,” Groseth said.
During closing arguments, Groseth held up the baby gate that was used to block the dog from the upstairs. She also rattled the huge chain and showed its cages and said Hardy had methods to restrain the dog.
Jackson showed the bloody robe that Hardy wore during the incident in which she also was bitten. “This is not the robe of a person who didn’t put up a fight,” Jackson said.
Prosecutors said during opening statements that Busa, an American Staffordshire terrier also referred to as a pit bull, had proven to be a vicious dog.
Groseth recounted how the animal had lunged at a postal carrier, who testified that he was able to get his mailbag in between himself and the dog. Prosecutors also said the dog bit a Beagle, requiring that dog to get staples for its injuries.
Finally, Groseth said how Hardy was required to attend a 150-minute training class put on by the Animal Resource Center for first-time offenders.
Jackson told jurors that Busa had never bit a person in nearly five years of being a family pet who slept in bed with children. After the boy’s death, Hardy’s dog was seized by ARC and euthanized in September 2014.
“You have responsibilities as a dog owner,” Dodd said. “If you don’t address aggressive behavior and it becomes worse — as this defendant failed to address — you will be held accountable and we will seek prison time.”
Johnathan Jr. was the infant son of Kashyra Hardy and Johnathan Quarles Sr. He was buried July 30, 2014, in Dayton.
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