Five days after he failed to appear in Lewis County Superior Court, Robert P. Werth made good on his legal obligation — only this time he did it from jail.
Werth, 58, faces 10 counts of first-degree animal cruelty months after investigators discovered a canvas bag containing 10 drowned puppies in Skate Creek.
First-degree animal cruelty is considered a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
Fellow Packwood man and co-conspirator Anthony L. Mommer, 57, made his preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Oct. 22. He was released on his own personal recognizance and was prohibited from having pets or being around any pets without supervision while the case was pending.
Werth, on the other hand, was a no-show in court, prompting Judge Paul Strophy to issue a $50,000 bench warrant for his arrest. Werth was arrested two days later and made a virtual appearance in court from the Lewis County Jail on Monday.
The Chronicle previously reported that Mommer and Werth were accused of conspiring to drown 10 puppies owned by Mommer. Werth was allegedly the one who carried out the task.
According to court documents, both men implied to investigators that it was the other person’s idea to drown the puppies back in May. Mommer told officers that he hoped Werth would re-home the animals and had “no idea” where the puppies were after they had gone missing.
Werth, however, claimed that Mommer had asked him to drown the puppies, and to do it while Mommer and other residents were out of Mommer’s house.
“Robert (Werth) said he had asked Anthony (Mommer) if he was sure and that Anthony told him to just ‘get it over with,’" court documents stated.
Werth reportedly said he was “just trying to help the neighborhood with their dog problems,” and indicated that he didn’t know drowning them was a crime.
Werth even took officers to Skate Creek, where the canvas bag containing the 10 drowned puppies — and a concrete rock — was still in the water.
On July 2, nearly two months after the alleged drowning, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office received the post-mortem evaluation from Ledgerock Veterinary Pathology.
The causes of death were consistent with drowning.
During Werth’s preliminary hearing, Chief Deputy Prosecutor William Halstead asked the court to maintain the $50,000 bail amount set in the arrest warrant.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller argued that bail be unsecured — meaning Werth wouldn’t have to post any money upfront before his release from custody but could be subject to future bail if he failed to meet conditions of release — or that Werth be released on his own personal recognizance and not be subject to bail.
Judge Paul Strophy noted that Werth was originally summoned to appear in court for his preliminary appearance, but for whatever reason failed to appear. He also acknowledged that Werth did not appear to have any other criminal history of a similar nature.
The judge set Werth’s bail at $10,000 unsecured. Like Mommer, Werth was ordered not to have pets or unsupervised contact with any animals.
An arraignment was scheduled for Oct. 30. Chris Baum has been appointed to represent Werth.
