An Ohio pit bull advocate indicted on 19 counts of theft and securities violations, updates included. Women attacked by pit bulls, attacks by newly adopted pit bulls, pit bulls invade a home to kill two small resident dogs, I Have a Dream learned nothing from past placement failures. .

Luke Westerman, formerly of Columbus Ohio, a relentless virtue signaling pit bull advocate now lives in El Paso Texas.  Westerman, a self-reported venture capitalist and humanitarian left Ohio about a year ago for a position as the Executive Director of the Humane Society of El Paso. How could this position possibly pay enough to maintain Westerman's lifestyle?

Westerman indicated at the time that the move was based upon a desire for service to animals.  A news report out of El Paso hints at other possible motives.  Westerman has been indicted for 19 counts of theft and securities violations by an Ohio Grand Jury.  Two of these charges have mandatory prison sentences of 3 to 11 years if he is found guilty. There are also charges that Westerman forged signatures.  An arrest warrant has been issued.  Local TV station KFOX14 Investigative Reporter Genevieve Curtis has been investigating for months.  She did an interview with Westerman in December that appeared January 3, 2018.  The interview is well worth watching.

Per that interview, Westerman stated "I could have continued to pursue the business world, and yeah, and there's a financial upside in that. At the end of the day, I have one life to live and I don't want to look back on my life and say, 'Yeah, I made a lot of money,' I want to say, 'I changed a lot of lives for the better, said, Westerman.

He said he left a lucrative job working on Wall Street and heading a venture capital firm to rescue animals."

Turns out, that statement has some holes in it.  Westerman did not leave Wall Street for humanitarian opportunities, he lost his Securities License in 2010.  Westerman refused, on camera, to discuss his past. He stated that any discussion of his financial and legal problems "does not help animals."  He went on to state that "political enemies" are responsible for the current charges and these political enemies have financial interests in harming animals.  Pretty much the standard tactics of those charged with financial crimes.  Westerman claimed that members of the board of directors of the Humane Society of El Paso were aware of the charges and that they fully supported him.  Turns out that was not quite accurate either.  Three members of the board quit, refusing to serve with him.  The board has issued a statement that they will take appropriate action.

Take a few minutes to watch the interview.  Pretty interesting body language here.  Westerman leans forward while defending himself but removes his microphone while speaking and sets it on a chair.  The reporter leans back, away from Westerman during the entire discussion.  She is clearly not buying any of Westerman's excuses.  


At this point, the legal system in Ohio will take over. The charges brought are very serious ones.  It sort of looks like the move to El Paso was less about saving animals and more about fleeing Ohio in an effort to avoid prosecution.  Didn't work.       

Westerman during the interview.  He sure looks uncomfortable.  Fashion tip, a comb-over is never a good look.   

Westerman in happier times.

9/20/2018  Westerman in Ohio prior to his move to Texas. 

Westerman and his associate Steffen Baldwin. Baldwin also left Ohio under "stressful circumstances."  Baldwin now resides in California.   The shirts are kind of ironic.  These two had lots of business failures, some individual, some together.  Baldwin's ACTOhio failed, Save Them Dog Training never lost the taint of the death of the pit bull, Remy, while in Baldwin's custody.  Baldwin and Westerman partnered on Columbus Pets Alive, that one never got off the ground.   They partnered on Ohioans Against Breed Discrimination, a pit bull PAC.  The goal of OABD was an amendment to the Ohio state constitution to prohibit BSL.  The proud announcement was made by these two that they would raise 5 million dollars to put the issue on the ballot.  Their gofundme page raised roughly $650 in six or seven months and was quietly taken down.  OABD died quietly.

                                                                           *

Update, and this is interesting.  From KFOX 14 News.

Update - Westerman has been charged with swindling 10 Ohio residents out of a total of $700,000 over the last 10 years.  Per KFOX 14 "On Friday, Franklin County prosecutor Ron O’Brien explained the charges by saying between December 2010 and the present, Westerman allegedly “solicited over $700,000 from 10 Ohio citizens for investment purposes, later misrepresented the status of the purported investments in false account statements and used some funds for personal purposes rather than the expressed investment purpose. The cash withdrawals and use for personal expenses from investment funds exceeded $300,000.”

Two of the charges listed in the indictment are for grand theft. One of the charges is theft from an elderly person. Westerman is accused of stealing from a person in a “protected class” where the amount was at least $7,500."

Most of Westerman's charges were for securities fraud but two charges deal with accusations that he used money from an IRA for personal use.  Per KFOX 14 "He also previously settled claims against him in which his clients accused him of forging their signatures on mutual funds.

In the December interview with KFOX14 Investigates, Westerman denied the settlement, even though it was listed in a public record."

You can't make this stuff up.

1/5/2019 Update.  It gets worse.  Per the El Paso Times, "An Ohio man said he alerted the Humane Society of El Paso to fraud allegations against the nonprofit's executive director Jeffery Luke Westerman. 

“I’m the one that blew the whistle on him in El Paso,” said Greg Leach, who worked for a company that was a subsidiary of Westerman’s company, Solomon Global Holdings in Ohio. “I notified the board of directors that they really needed to look into his background and do due diligence into his background because of the situation with him being the main man to go out and raise money for the humane society."

Leach also stated “I was working for a private investigation startup company which was one of his (Westerman) many ventures here in Columbus,” Leach said. “Red flags started to wave when employees weren’t getting paid and the way he was acting. Nobody was getting paid and the various excuses that were given (by Westerman) when it was time (for employees) to collect (their) paychecks…False promises and stories that were too good to be true.”

After Solomon Global Holdings, a venture capital company, went out of business, Westerman then attempted to join several animal charity organizations, Leach said.

“After that, the Luke Westerman that wanted to save the animal world came out,” Leach said. “He was very unsuccessful in that area up here in Ohio because I was a humane executive for the Delaware County (Ohio) up here. I started working to not allow him into any of the animal societies here in Ohio, so what better thing for him to do than move to Texas.”

During Westerman's interview, he stated clearly that his integrity had never been questioned.  Looks like that is not quite true.  Mr. Leach sure did.  The Grand Jury in Columbus indicted Westerman on 19 counts.  Does that qualify as "questioning his integrety". I think it might.

You can't make this stuff up. 

                                                                * * *

                                                           

Brookpark Ohio  

Cuyahoga County

A 74-year-old woman was bitten by a loose pit bull.  Per the Brookpark Police blotter, police did not know how the pit bull escaped its yard but the owner was cited.  Here is a clue, it's a pit bull. The victim drove herself to the hospital for treatment. 

Brookpark bans pit bulls.  Laws need to be enforced. 

                                                         * * *

9/30/2018

Fairview Park Oio

Cuyahoga County

  Dog at large per The west Life's Western Cuyahoga Police Blotter. 

Police are investigating a Sept. 30 report that a pit bull was running loose near 4300 West 210th St. about 12:45 p.m. A woman told officers that the dog owner threatened her because she was going to videotape the incident as he captured his dog. Officers said that they had handled similar calls previously at that home The prosecutor is reviewing the case.

Fairview Park regulates pit bulls.

                                                           * * *

10/28/2018

Berea Ohio

Cuyahoga County

A newly adopted pit bull slipped his collar to attack a woman walking two leashed dogs.  Per Cleveland.com " A Fair Street woman was bitten by a pit bull at about 1 p.m. Oct. 28 while walking her two dogs on West Street.

The pit bull belonged to a North Olmsted man who was walking the dog, along with a second pit bull, past the woman and her dogs. The pit bull that attacked slipped out of its collar and darted toward the woman and her dogs.

The woman picked up her dogs to protect them. The pit bull jumped toward the dogs and bit the woman's hand. She screamed for help.

Witnesses ran toward the woman to assist her. A driver opened his car door and allowed the woman and her dogs to enter his vehicle. The driver called 911. The pit bull's owner gained control of the pit bull.

Paramedics arrived to assess the woman's injury. She refused transport to a local hospital. The dog's owner said he had just adopted the pit bull from the Cleveland Animal Protective League. He said he would return the dog to the APL because of the incident."  

 Hope the shelter will not send this particular pit bull back out into the community.  Unfortunately, shelters maintain a revolving door for pit bulls.  

                                                            * * * 

11/12/2018

Boardman Ohio

Mahoning County

This one is from Jason Cooke's neighborhood.  A pit bull, newly adopted from the Mahoning County Shelter, attacked a child inside a home. This child is a family member of the new owner. The child was treated at Akron Children's Hospital then transferred to the main hospital.  Reportedly, the pit bull was shot by a family member but survived to be picked up by the county dog warden.  While the article does not name the breed WKBN News includes a photo of the dog at the "Yes Fest" at the local high school.  The photo shows a pit bull surrounded by students.  What could go wrong?  Exactly what did go wrong.   Click to view the photo of the dog.

                                                          * * *

11/30/2018

Gahanna Ohio

Franklin County

This one comes from the Gahanna Ohio Police Blotter.  Two dogs were attacked and killed within their home by three "pit bull type" dogs owned by residents of an adjacent house.  Per the Gahanna Police " The owner of the dogs responsible for the incident was interviewed and cited with several violations by both agencies at the scene. As of today, additional investigatory measures by the Gahanna Division of Police and Franklin County Animal Care and Control are being taken in the matter. At this time the incident remains under investigation and all available legal remedies are being explored with the appropriate entities in the interest of furthering the public’s safety"

Pets are not safe from pit bull attack within the home of their owner.  Thank about that for a minute.  The pit bulls had a history of breaking down the fence and got inside the home through a rear door with a lever handle. Police and officials from the Franklin County shelter work on getting the pit bulls declared dangerous so the pit owners would be required to put a lock on the gate and post Dangerous Dogs" signs.  Apparently, these pit bulls will be allowed to remain in the neighborhood.  If that's not outrageous I don't know what is.  THAT is the best they can do?  

Here is a photo of the victims  This breaks my heart. 

.

This story turned up in the comments on the Gahanna Police Facebook page..
" Our beagle was viciously attacked by a pit being fostered thru the I HAVE A DREAM rescue organization. My husband was walking her in our neighborhood on a leash and was across the street from the yard of the foster. The foster was a 60+ yr old man who walks with a cane - the pit is an 80+ lb 8 year old female with an unknown history. The rescue group pulled her from Franklin cty dog shelter. She got out of the yard because the guy left his garage door open. She charged across the street and latched onto Molly's neck (our pup). It took 4 ppl to get her off. All 4 were bit by the pit. Molly sustained multiple stitches in her neck/ throat and by her female parts, multiple deep puncture wounds, both eyes were injured and her front paws/legs were very sore. She came home from the vet with 1 antibiotic and 2 pain medications. It took her about a month to heal. My husband had to go to the ER. He got stitches in his fingers, a tetanus shot, rabies shot and rabies IG as recommended by the ER dr and our vet. The rescue group and its supporters could care less that this dog attacked. They didn't pay any of our medical or vet bills. We have had to get attorneys. And the pit is back up on their website and PETFINDER.com for adoption or fostering. The petfinder ad contains NO mention of the attack and the ad on their social media downplays it and implies my husband is to blame for being bit - apparently he didn't follow some unknown protocol to get this beast off our 25lb pup. The group and its supporters have accused us of having an agenda because we have taken legal action and they have not considered ANYTHING that we

The I Have A Dream Rescue has a poor public safety record.  Here is a link to material on a 2014 attack on a foster by a pit from I have A Dream.  The thing had a history of attacking fosters but the group did not tell new fosters.  The group also had no insurance to cover the medical bills for the second attack.  Here is a link. It is the last story in the post. Some thing never change, I Have A Dream is one of them.  Ohio has laws regulating rescues, how is this one still in business?

Ohio pit bull roundup - A pit bull's worst nightmare might be his owner, a pit bull owner may be the worst nightmare for a neighborhood, attacks on pregnant women,families and children, pit bulls and drug raids, and a normal dog owner bites back.

We are working our way through the backlog of Ohio pit bull news but not caught up yet.  There is no order to this.

2/22/2015
Richland Ohio

The Richland Public Health Department is looking for a white and brown pit bull wearing a collar.  The pit bull bit a person and remains at large.  Authorities warn against anyone attempting to restrain the dog.

                                                              * * *

3/10/2015
Trenton Ohio

From the "a pit bull's worst nightmare is likely to be his owner" file.  Two hikers found a dead pit bull tied to a tree in a remote wooded area of a local park.  The pit bull appeared to have strangled himself struggling against the very short cord.   One of the hikers had this to say " "It didn't look abused. It didn't look malnourished at all. It looked like a really good looking dog, a healthy dog, but I guess they didn't want it" 

The hiker went on to tell the reporter that as he and his cousin were on their way out of the woods they met a man with a small, sick dog that he intended to abandon in the woods to die.  The cousins were able to talk the man into taking his dog to a shelter.  What is going on in the Woodsdale Park?


                                                                    * * *

2/23/2015
Xenia Ohio

More from the "a pit bull's worst nightmare his likely to be his owner" file.  Kane the pit bull is dead, starved (37 pounds roughly half what Kane would have been expected to weigh), heavily infested with parasites, and frozen.  Kane's owner, Jason Michael Smith Jr. was incarcerated and care of Kane was passed to Smith's friend Steven Gale.  Kane was being kept at Gale's house but apparently Gale did not bother to care for a dog in his own yard.  How much effort would have been involved here?

Neighbors brought food, blankets heated in their dryers, and hay for bedding but were unable to save Kane.  Per WHIO "Weeks ago, county animal control agents told the owner to put up tarp to shelter the dog from the biting wind. According to the National Weather Service, record-setting low temperatures registered in the single digits and wind chills were making it “feel like” well below zero."
Xenia is in Green County Ohio.  Both Smith and Gale have been charged in the death of Kane the pit bull.  Wouldn't mandatory neuter and spay be better than this?
 
Jason Michael Smith JR. booking photo

                                                                * * *

2/3/2015
Berea Ohio

Zora the deaf pit bull is looking for a special home.  Zora, housed at the Berea Animal Rescue Shelter for the last six months, has been in training with a shelter trainer.  Watch the video, this is a big, 70 pound, two year old, active dog.  The trainer remarked "she does need management when she plays, she doesn't know when to stop."


3/10/2015 Zora found her special home.  Now known as Zoey, the pit bull is the new companion of a six year old deaf child.  Per Cleveland.com "Gilliam had been thinking of getting a dog for about three years, but the right one had not come along. All that changed when Gilliam's mother, Jean Stuart, brought a newspaper article to her daughter's attention. Zoey was the subject of a "Needs a home" feature in the Sun newspapers.  "I said, 'Oh my God, Courtney, this is the dog for you!' Mike's deaf, she's deaf, and so we went and looked at her," Stuart says."  "Both Gilliam and her mother believe pit bulls do not deserve their reputation for being a "bad breed."

  I sincerely hope nothing goes wrong here. 

                                                               * * *    

3/16/2015    

DAYTON Ohio    

A six year old girl required treatment at Dayton Children's Hospital after she was attacked by a pit bull as she was playing with friends in her neighborhood.  The pit bull, owned by Curtis Jones, ran into the street and bit the child on her thigh, requiring seven stitches.  The girl's father told a Dayton Daily News Reporter that “Her friends try to pull her on top of a car so the dog couldn’t reach her” “But she couldn’t get away.” 

Curtis Jones was arrested and charged with failure to control an animal.  No information was given on disposition of the pit bull.      

Curtis Jones booking photo

                                                     * * *
4/6/2015
DAYTON Ohio   
 Dayton police were called to the scene of a pit bull attack upon a pregnant  woman.  Per Fox45 " According to the pregnant woman, who police interviewed later at the hospital, she was approached by two pit bull dogs, which became aggressive. She said she used her coat and purse to prevent one dog from biting her stomach. The other dog, however, bit her hand. Police says she had one cut on her right hand and several cuts on her left hand; however, she was not injured elsewhere.

Police spoke to the resident at the home where the dogs were being kept but a friend of the injured woman stated that the dogs the resident showed to the police were not the pit bulls that attacked her friend.  How many pit bulls does the resident have?  Might be something Montgomery County dog warden Mark Kumpf could check out.  
                                              

                                                                  * * *

This one is for Steffen              

4/4/2015                          

Hoxie AR

A Hoxie family adopted a pit bull after being told that the pit bull showed no signs of aggression. “She seemed like the sweetest dog I've ever seen,” Hilderbran said. “She was very well mannered and very calm. I'd seen her around other dogs, we watched her around our daughter before, without me holding her and she seemed fine with her.”Three days later the pit bull attacked the four year old daughter. Did relocation change the dog? Apparently not.  After attacking the child the pit bull escaped the home and was shot by police due to aggression toward officers.  See video. 

                                                            * * *

3/1/2015

DAYTON Ohio   

Back to the "a pit bull's worst nightmare is likely to be its owner" files for this one.  Dayton firefighters pulled a pit bull out of a burning vacant home.  

This is a pit bull.

Why is a pit bull left behind in a vacant house?  My guess would be irresponsible owner.  Wouldn't mandatory neuter and spay be better than abandoning pit bulls? Just what Montgomery County dog warden Mark Kumpf needs in his shelter, another abandoned pit bull.  

                                                                    * * *

2/8/2015

DAYTON Ohio

A pit bull, tied in a backyard in Dayton broke free and attacked a passerby.  The victim required treatment at a local hospital.  The pit bull owner was cited for failure to license his pit bull.  The victim plans to press charges.  Go for it! 

                                                              * * *

4/10/2015

Kettering Ohio

In a story you will never see on the news, a Kettering woman is unable to receive home delivery of her mail because the neighbor's Lab runs loose and postal employees feel threatened.  Video is included with the story.  

                                                            * * *

2/7/2015

Columbus Ohio  

I don't even know how to describe this one.  Keep this guy in mind when you read a comment on a pit bull attack news story.  The comment that begins with "well I'm a responsible pit bull owner."  Given England's profession he has lots of time during the day to comment on pit bull attacks. 

We begin with this quote from the Columbus Dispatch "The South Side man who was shot and wounded yesterday morning by Columbus police was wanted on a charge of beating a man into a coma during a road-rage dispute last fall, police said."

Police arrived at the home of James England, age 28, to arrest him for an assaulting two men with a steel pipe during a road rage incident.in October. At that time England went ballistic after three men yelled at him to slow down as he drove through a trailer park. How might one deal with the supreme insult of having people yell at you to slow down?  You jump out of your truck and beat them with a section of steel pipe, as Mr. England did.  The most seriously injured victim was hospitalized for a week.  

Fast forward to February.  When police arrived at the front door to arrest him England ran out the back door of his house.  Officers patiently waiting at the back door grabbed England through the partially boarded up and broken door.  During the struggle one of the police officers was dragged partially into the home and at this point England's dogs, an American Bulldog and a pit bull rushed the police (what else would someone like this own?)  An attempt was made to  subdue England with a tazer but the tazer did not connect.  England, with one wrist in handcuffs, was able to run back into his house.  Police shot at the dogs but found that they had hit England instead.  England was seriously wounded and transported to a local hospital

Neighborhood residents were not particularity upset with this.  Burglaries and theft in the neighborhood increased dramatically after England moved in last year.  England openly admitted to dealing heroin from the house.  

One neighbor stated  “Traffic in and out of there was ridiculous.”  Once while feeding birds and having a cigarette, the neighbor said he was startled by a stranger who ran through his yard carrying a Sony PlayStation. "

England has a police record going back 10 years with convictions for burglary, assault, drug possession, and breaking and entering.   The neighbors will not miss him.  The pit bull and the American Bulldog were not injured, no mention was made of their final destination.  Please watch the video where the neighbor talks about a drug raid at England's house.  Mr. England was sure that his neighbors had ratted him out so he  threatened to shoot everyone in the neighborhood.  A "responsible pit bull owner" for sure.

Booking photo for James England.

                                                              * * *

3/17/2015
Lima Ohio

Speaking of drug raids we will move on to this one.  A "no knock" drug raid was conducted at a home in Lima Ohio. A SWAT team entered the home and shouted for the home owner to cage his pit bull. The story gets odd here.  Susan and James Smith claim that after they caged Lulu the pit bull a police officer kicked the cage open allowing Lulu to escape. The Smiths state that Lulu was not aggressive and "would never hurt a fly".  Per the Smiths, the dog ran into a bedroom where she was shot five times by a police officer.  Lulu then ran into a neighbor's yard where she was shot three more times.  "Meanwhile Smith was being beaten by officers."

Police reports indicate the dog was shot three times but the location of that shooting is not noted.  No complaints of excessive force by police against Smith or his pit bull have been made to the Allen County Sheriffs Office.  Seems like five shots fired in a bedroom would be pretty easy to prove.  Both Susan and James Smith have been charged with keeping a disorderly house (they can do that?), resisting arrest, and obstructing official business.  Police would not release a statement on drugs found in the home due to the ongoing investigation.  Mr. Smith stated that a pound of weed had been found in his home.

Lulu the pit bull was shot and killed by police.

                                                              * * *

3/17/2015
Sandusky Ohio  

This festive St. Patricks Day story comes from the Sandusky Register.  Picture it, there is a discussion between neighbors about couches that had been in the yard of a pit bull owner for weeks.  The neighbors are not pleased with the look.  Per the Register "In response, the men began exchanging words in the neighbor's yard, while the neighbor was holding onto a leash connected to his pit bull, according to a Sandusky police report. The man then asked his neighbor if his dog was licensed.

“Do you want to get close enough to see? Get him!,” the neighbor allegedly said. It was at that point the dog bit the man on his right hip, the victim claimed."

As the dog owner describes it, the neighbor began swearing at him about the couches.  The dog owner stated that he warned the man that his dog was vicious, calling it a Mastiff.  This story gets weird too.  The pit bull owner claims that his neighbor "kept inching closer and making threatening movements."  Somehow this sounds fishy but the pit bull owner went on to claim that he never ordered the dog to attack, the pit bull "only lunged and bit the man because it was protecting its owner."

The prosecutor is reviewing the case.

                                                                       * * *

4/2/2015
Sandusky Ohio

A civil lawsuit has been filed against Rebecca Hush, who pleaded no contest to a vicious dog complaint but has not yet been sentenced .  Per the Sandusky Register "The lawsuit, filed late last year, seeks at least $75,000 of damages for medical expenses, injuries and related losses and an additional $225,000 in punitive damages. The case has been assigned to Common Pleas Judge Tygh Tone. The lawsuit also names Carol Ann Franks, Hush's mother, as a defendant, stating Hush lives with her mother. 

The plaintiff, Paul Aviles, was walking his Jack Russel Terrier at Battery Park when Scooter the JRT was attacked by two pit bulls that had escaped from Hush's yard.  Mr Aviles was injured when he tried to protect his little dog.  Hush claims that Aviles was tormenting her dogs and trespassing on her property.   * eye roll *  
  

I love this photo of Scooter!     

More about this story can be found near the end of this 2014 Roundup post.   The story came from this Register article.  An interesting note on Mr. Aviles, during the struggle to protect his dog he bit one of the pit bulls " I bit him as long and as hard as I could," Aviles said. "They were like demons."

A passerby called police who "battled" the pit bulls, Tazing one of them.  That pit bull died.  The other pit bull was eventually returned to Hush.  Records indicate Hush pleaded guilty to a dog at large charge in 2000.

                                                                        * * *

4/16/2015

Columbus Ohio  

A pit bull attacked a young mother, her three year old child, and an 85 year old man in Columbus, The mother was walking her child to school when "the dog came out of nowhere." Shanna Harvey picked up her child to protect her and "took all the pain."  The attack was witnessed by 85 year old John Barnette, Mr. Barnette was unable to assist Shanna Harvey and her little girl because just moments before he had been bitten by the same pit bull.  Per ABC6 "Norma Roberts initially told Humane Agents, neighbors and ABC 6/Fox 28 that the dog wasn't hers. "I'm dog sitting," she said. "Their house in Indiana burned down and I opened up my home."

But Franklin County Animal Control says she lied. Late Thursday afternoon Roberts turned the dog over to animal control and admitted the dog was hers."

Roberts will be charged with failure to control a vicious dog, the fine for this is $1000 and/or up to six months in jail. The pit bull was not vaccinated.  It will be destroyed and tested for rabies.