Qian Feng: Dog-Poisoner No Show in Court for Sentencing

Photo courtesy HPD

Anyone know where this dude is?

Qian Feng raised some hackles when he was arrested for allegedly lobbing strychnine-laced cheeseballs into the yard of his Rice Military-area neighbor Charlotte Liberda, who runs a dog rescue. Fortunately, no dogs died, but Feng was charged with a felony count of cruelty to non-livestock animals.

Feng pled guilty in November and faced a 30-day jail sentence with three years' deferred adjudication, plus restitution, attorney Brett Podolsky told Hair Balls. Podolsky said he had no idea where Podolsky is or why he didn't show up for sentencing.

Although Podolsky wasn't justifying his client's actions, he expressed frustration over what he felt was prosecutors' disproportionate response to many animal cruelty cases. He said that prosecutors are more likely to cooperate with defense attorneys on charges of choking a family member, as opposed to lesser charges of animal cruelty. He also expressed skepticism over the pet rescue advocates who he felt helped generate media coverage in a case that he felt, in the scheme of things, was minor.

"If they want to rally the troops, why don't they come to court with all the battered women and molested children and all the bad shit that's going on?" Podolsky said. But he also said he was a dog-lover and that "I'm not saying that it was [in] any way remotely justified...it was uncalled for. The dogs did nothing to anybody. They're just dogs. If you have a beef with the owner, talk to her, don't take it out on the dogs."

It's not clear whether or not Feng is an American citizen; the court has custody of his passport. The D.A.'s Office had no comment.