Yesterday, October 11th, 2022 at approximately 4:45pm MST, we received some of the best news regarding this case. The court denied April/Sydney’s request to obtain ANY of the dogs back into her custody.
To everyone’s surprise, at the beginning of the hearing, April stated that she was not petitioning to get 47 of the dogs back into her custody, but instead she wanted 13 dogs back which she claimed were her “family dogs”. This change of petition resulted in about an hour delay.
April/Sydney represented herself in this matter. Arizona Humane Society and the PD stated their testimonies in a factual and to-the-point manner as to what they witnessed in their investigation. The judge ultimately ruled that April/Sydney will not be getting a single dog back.
She has 14 days as of yesterday, now 13 days to appeal the court’s ruling, which we all know she most likely will do. A common phrase used yesterday was, “the pictures speak for themselves” and, “pictures don’t lie” (regarding the evidentiary photos).
As to what charges and sentencing April/Sydney will face, is a mystery as she still will have to go before a grand jury. Hopefully, she will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. Updates will follow as to when that court date will be.
As of right now, the rescues are working with AHS to get the 34 dogs back. The 13 dogs that April/Sydney petitioned to get back will remain with AHS in this period that she can appeal the judge’s ruling.
Koko Garcia’s (@handoverrover on instagram & tiktok) dog, Marbles, is still unaccounted for. The reward is currently at $10.5k which will go to anyone that is able to locate him.
@handoverrover’s post regarding info in the Search For Marbles