Big man on trial in death of little dog

RALEIGH -- A Wake County judge will determine next week whether a Raleigh man is responsible for the death of Noah, a 6-pound Chihuahua.

In early September, police charged David Lance Upchurch, 38, of 1028 Cookwood Court, with cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor. Upchurch, who works in The News & Observer's information services department, said at a court hearing Friday that he was defending his black labrador retriever, Sasha, from a growling, teeth-baring Noah. He said he did not apply enough pressure to kill the dog, who died shortly afterward.

At the end of a six-hour trial at the Wake County Courthouse, District Judge William Lawton said one element of the case bothered him.

"I'm really struggling with the need that [Upchurch] had to touch this dog at all," the judge said. "I'm really struggling with that."

By all accounts, Noah, a 12-year-old, long-haired breed, was a very spoiled dog, whose owner, Betty Richardson of 1008 Cookwood Court, smothered him with affection, an N.C. State jacket, a raincoat, pajamas and trips to a pet resort.

Spoiled as he was, Richardson said her little dog was civic-minded.

"He would do pet therapy at the nursing homes," she said.

Richardson has accused Upchurch, who lives in the same cul-de-sac, of fatally injuring Noah on Aug. 30 by holding him down and squeezing him between his breastbone and neck.

A necropsy performed by Rollins Laboratory on Blue Ridge Road found lesions that were consistent with Richardson's claims. The lab also found a half-inch long thumbprint- type bruise on Noah's upper sternum and trauma to his eyes.

Noah's death has split an already divided neighborhood.

"Sadly, this has grown into some type of minor tribal conflict in the neighborhood," Lawton said before ordering neighbors who came to support Upchurch and Richardson to leave the courtroom separately.

Friday's proceedings had the trappings of a homicide trial. Three expert medical witnesses, an animal control officer and a character witness took the stand, as did Richardson, her mother, Mary Cheek, 73, and Upchurch.

Richardson testified that Noah sped out of her home's front door when she opened it to let her mother inside. Noah ran to Upchurch near the edge of the front yard and began barking at Upchurch's dog, Sasha.

Richardson said she reached down to scoop up Noah, who was exchanging growls with Sasha, when Upchurch grabbed her dog, flipped him over on his side and pinned him to the ground.

According to Richardson, as Noah yelped beneath Upchurch's grip, Upchurch said, "This is what another dog would do if he wanted to kill your dog." Noah collapsed when Richardson got the dog back inside. He died soon after at Knightdale Animal Hospital.

Upchurch testified that he was protecting his 100-pound dog, whom Noah lunged at three times with teeth bared. He testified that Richardson apologized for Noah's behavior and said the dog shouldn't have been outside.

In his closing remarks, defense lawyer William Young of Raleigh said Upchurch was a lifelong animal lover, caretaker and trainer, who is being portrayed as a dog-killer.

Young said prosecutors could not prove that Upchurch's actions caused Noah's death. He also pointed to Noah's chronic heart disease as a possible underlying cause of the dog's death.

"Her dog passed away," he said. "Her dog, in my opinion, was ready to go."

But Wake prosecutor Boz Zellinger said the case was about "a big bruise on a little dog."

He pointed to the testimony of the expert witnesses -- Dr. Mahogony Wade, who performed Noah's necropsy, and Dr. Keith Linder, a clinical assistant professor and veterinary pathologist at the College of Veterinary Medicine at N.C. State University.

"They both said it wasn't necessarily this dog's day to die," Zellinger said. "The catalyst was the defendant touching him and squashing him to the ground."