A Cocoa woman who police said abandoned her 2-year-old German shepherd in a crate to slowly starve to death faces no more than a year in jail after prosecutors Friday charged her with one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Christine Abrams, 29, was arrested March 12 after a neighbor's tip led them to respond to her old home. She has pleaded not guilty.
Police originally charged Abrams with one count of felony cruelty, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
They said she admitted to leaving the dog, Ella, behind without food or water when she moved two months earlier.
Authorities said Abrams told them she had moved because the water had been cut off and that she didn't take Ella with her because she said her new roommate didn't like dogs.
In the criminal justice system, police arrest a suspect on certain charges. Then, the case is sent to the state attorney's office, which investigates before determining what charges would hold up in court.
Court records show prosecutors decided to charge Abrams with a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.
The case has drawn the attention of thousands of people worldwide who have created a Web page, signed petitions, donated money to the local humane society and purchased T-shirts in Ella's memory.
The state attorney's office received dozens of letters from people urging them to charge Abrams with felony cruelty and to refuse any plea negotiations.
But Chief Assistant State Attorney Wayne Holmes said a decision on the charges would be based on the amount of evidence his office was able to gather and would take into account the unclear wording of laws set by the state Legislature.
Holmes encouraged residents to contact their local representatives and urged them to lobby for tougher laws that would make all animal cruelty a felony.
Abrams' next court date is a June 18 scheduling hearing before County Judge Kelly McKibben.
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