State v. Klingelhoets

2012 WI App 55, 814 N.W.2d 885, 341 Wis. 2d 432, 2012 WL 1319722, 2012 Wisc. App. LEXIS 316
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedApril 18, 2012
DocketNo. 2011AP507-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2012 WI App 55 (State v. Klingelhoets) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Klingelhoets, 2012 WI App 55, 814 N.W.2d 885, 341 Wis. 2d 432, 2012 WL 1319722, 2012 Wisc. App. LEXIS 316 (Wis. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

¶ 1. GUNDRUM, J.

This case stems from an incident in which Shawn M. Klingelhoets shot his neighbor's dog three times with a pellet gun, causing injury so severe the dog needed to be euthanized. Klingelhoets appeals from the judgment convicting him of a Class I felony for intentionally mistreating an animal, resulting in the animal's death, contrary to Wis. Stat. §§ 951.02 and 951.18(1) (2009-10),1 and convicting him of a Class A misdemeanor for intentionally shooting a tied animal with a deadly weapon, contrary to Wis. Stat. § 951.09(1). He also appeals from the order denying his postconviction motion.

¶ 2. Klingelhoets contends that in order for him to be guilty of a Class I felony for intentionally mistreating an animal under the applicable penalty statute, Wis. Stat. § 951.18(1), he had to have intended not only to mistreat the animal, but also to have intended the animal's death. He argues that, because it was not proven at trial that he intended to kill the animal, as the State concedes, the evidence was insufficient to convict him of the Class I felony. Related to this argument, Klingelhoets also contends: (1) the jury instructions denied him due process and his right to a jury verdict on all facts necessary to convict, (2) reversal is appropriate in the interests of justice on the grounds that the jury instructions failed to require proof of all facts necessary to convict, and (3) he was denied the effective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel failed to object to the jury instructions. In addition to these arguments regarding his felony conviction, Klingelhoets contends the evidence related to his misdemeanor conviction was insufficient to establish that the [437]*437pellet gun he used, from the manner in which he used it, was a "deadly weapon" under Wis. Stat. § 951.09(1). All of Klingelhoets' arguments fail. We affirm the judgment and order.

Facts

¶ 3. A jury trial was held, producing the following undisputed facts. Klingelhoets and Tina Randolph were neighbors. On September 8, 2009, Klingelhoets, using a scope, aimed and fired a pellet gun at Randolph's seventeen pound Jack Russell terrier, Shakes, from a distance of approximately 144 feet. Shakes was tied to a stake in Randolph's yard at the time. Klingelhoets shot Shakes a total of three times. His first and second shot hit Shakes in the backside and elicited no noticeable reaction. With Klingelhoets' third shot, however, Shakes "went down." Klingelhoets testified that he shot Shakes because he was barking and "I thought I [would] just give him a little sting in the butt, like a shocking collar, you know, and that would be that, you know, and he would quit barking and — and carry on his happy little life."

¶ 4. After the incident, Shakes was taken to a veterinarian, who testified that all three shots caused wounds that penetrated Shakes' skin, with the third shot penetrating to the spinal canal, causing seizures and several heart stoppages among other complications. Explaining that complications from the bullet lodged in Shakes' spinal canal led to Shakes being euthanized,2 the veterinarian further testified that one of the most common results of a pellet lodged in the spinal canal would be death.

[438]*438¶ 5. The investigating officer testified that the pellet gun Klingelhoets used had a scope on it and confirmed it was a "high-powered air rifle" at "the upper end of the velocities" for its caliber. He testified that the 144-foot distance from which Klingelhoets shot Shakes was within the pellet gun's range.

¶ 6. The jury found Klingelhoets guilty of intentionally mistreating an animal, resulting in the animal's death, and intentionally shooting a tied animal with a deadly weapon.

¶ 7. Klingelhoets moved for postconviction relief. On the felony conviction, he argued that the jury was not properly instructed on intentionally mistreating an animal, resulting in the animal's death, because the jury was not told that in order to find Klingelhoets guilty, it had to find he intended to kill Shakes. He also asserted that his trial counsel was ineffective for not objecting to the jury instructions. He further contended that he was entitled to a new trial in the interests of justice because the real controversy was not tried and because, with the properjury instructions, the outcome would have been different and therefore justice had miscarried. On the misdemeanor conviction, Klingelhoets asserted that the evidence was insufficient to prove him guilty of intentionally shooting a tied animal with a deadly weapon, specifically because

although a pellet gun has the capacity to cause death — as it did in this case — the manner in which it was used here — shooting at an animal from a distance of at least 144 feet away — was not likely to produce or easily and readily capable of producing death.

¶ 8. Following a hearing, the trial court denied Klingelhoets' motion. The court concluded that the jury was properly instructed because the crime of intention[439]*439ally mistreating an animal, resulting in the animal's death, requires an intentional act of cruel treatment of an animal, which results in death, but does not require that the person who mistreated the animal intend the animal's death. The court further concluded that the evidence at trial was sufficient to show the pellet gun was a deadly weapon. This appeal follows.

Discussion

¶ 9. On appeal, Klingelhoets renews his postconviction argument that the jury was not properly instructed on the Class I felony of intentionally mistreating an animal, resulting in the animal's death, because the jury was not told that in order to find Klingelhoets guilty, it had to find that he intended to kill Shakes. In considering Klingelhoets' felony conviction, we are required to apply the undisputed facts to Wis. Stat. § 951.02 and the applicable penalty statute, Wis. Stat. § 951.18(1). Statutory interpretation is a question of law we review de novo. Zellner v. Cedarburg Sch. Dist., 2007 WI 53, ¶ 16, 300 Wis. 2d 290, 731 N.W.2d 240. Our goal in interpreting statutory provisions is to give effect to the intent of the legislature. State ex rel. Kalal v. Circuit Court for Dane Cnty., 2004 WI 58, ¶ 44, 271 Wis. 2d 633, 681 N.W.2d 110. To determine that intent, we begin with the statute's language. Cynthia E. v. La Crosse Cnty. Human Servs. Dep't, 172 Wis. 2d 218, 225, 493 N.W.2d 56 (1992) (citing J.A.L. v. State, 162 Wis. 2d 940, 962, 471 N.W.2d 493 (1991)). If the legislature's intent is unambiguously declared through the words of the statute, our duty is to apply that intent to the case at hand; "we may not look beyond the statute's language to determine what that language means." Cynthia E., [440]*440172 Wis. 2d at 225; see also Kelley Co., Inc.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Jonathan C. Gapp
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2022
State v. Philip W. Vaughn
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2021
Flint v. City of Milwaukee
91 F. Supp. 3d 1032 (E.D. Wisconsin, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 WI App 55, 814 N.W.2d 885, 341 Wis. 2d 432, 2012 WL 1319722, 2012 Wisc. App. LEXIS 316, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-klingelhoets-wisctapp-2012.