You've probably read that Burnett will be out of jail soon (he was serving time for both his road rage killing of Leo and also for his theft from and destruction of property of his former employer, PacBell). He has also filed suit against the San Jose Mercury News and the victim of his most infamous crime, the road rage killing of Leo. Here are some recent articles: Leo the dog's killer claims mental anguish in suit (SJMN) and Leo the dog's killer sues for `anguish' HE ALSO CLAIMS INJURY IN FENDER-BENDER (SJMN). Please note that the SJMN seems to restrict access to the articles a few weeks after putting them on the web, so if you cannot read them that is probably why.
In the PacBell case, Burnett's PacBell service van ended up at the bottom of a cliff minus some equipment (that was later found to have been sold by Burnett for profit). As part of his defense, Burnett claimed that he drove off the road in an attempt to dodge an animal, and he rolled down the cliff in the van into the water. He claimed he escaped from the van, swam in the Pacific Ocean for about a mile before washing ashore and hiking over the mountains near the Redwood City, CA area.
Hmm . . . if we accept this ridiculous story as true, it seems like rolling down a cliff in a service van would be a more likely source of a neck injury than the Leo incident, which involved a very low speed fender bender when Burnett cut over a lane aggressively in front of Leo's owner. But of course, Burnett's story about rolling down the hill in the van was a complete fabrication. He did roll the van down, in an attempt to hide evidence, but Burnett himself wasn't in it. I expect his claim of a neck injury, coming three years after the Leo killing, is a similar fabrication.
After two years in jail, most of the negative attention on Burnett had finally died down. What would possess Burnett to return himself to public ridicule with an absurd lawsuit, instead of quietly trying to rebuild some sort of life for himself? My guess: poor judgment. Again.
Detective Zaragoza was kind enough to send us a note:
To all the readers/supporters of this website:
First I would like to say, had it not been for the leads that were sent to this website, the "LEO" case would have never been solved. Andrew Douglas Burnett would have never been brought to justice and he would have never seen the inside of a prison.
Thanks to R. and this website addressing the issue and keeping the country informed on the status, progress (or lack thereof) on the "LEO" investigation.
Thanks to R. for providing me with the various crucial pieces of evidence in identifying and convicting Burnett. The photo of Burnett's black GMC Jimmy was enlarged to 3 1/2 by 4 1/2 feet and it was used as a court exibit---both for the Grand Jury and at trial in Superior Court.
Most of all, thanks to Sara McBurnett, who never wavered from day one--through trial, in the face of adversity, when others were trying to discredit her testimony.
We must not forget KGO radio (810 AM), San Francisco and Ronn Owens who kept the public informed and started the reward fund which grew to over $120,000. Thanks to all who contributed to the reward fund.
I must relay to the readers a call that I recieved during the "LEO" investigation: The mother of two small children called me from Southern California and said that her two kids "broke their piggy banks and sent the money to the reward fund held by the Santa Clara Humane Society." This was so heartfelt that it convinced me that there are more good people out there than one can imagine.
I have to also give credit to all the officers who were instrumental in helping to solve "LEO's" case.
Thanks to all who took the time to send me flowers, letters, cards and email. It all made it worthwhile.
Many people heard that I kept a picture of Leo above my desk during this investigation. This was dubbed a "motivator". That is true.
What should also have been noticed above my desk is a writing by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
SUCCESS TO LAUGH OFTEN AND MUCH TO WIN THE RESPECT OF INTELLIGENT PEOPLE AND THE AFFECTION OF CHILDREN, TO EARN THE APPRECIATION OF HONEST CRITICS AND ENDURE THE BETRAYAL OF FALSE FRIENDS, TO APPRECIATE BEAUTY, TO FIND THE BEST IN OTHERS, TO LEAVE THE WORLD A BIT BETTER, WHETHER BY A HEALTHY CHILD, A GARDEN PATCH, OR A REDEEMED SOCIAL CONDITION, TO KNOW THAT EVEN ONE LIFE HAS BREATHED BETTER BECAUSE YOU HAVE LIVED, THIS IS TO HAVE SUCCEEDED.
I hope that I have succeeded. I try to live by these words. And Leo will never be forgotten.
Phil Zaragoza
Detective Sergeant
UPDATE 7/24/2001 1PM:
After another brief trial, Andrew Douglas Burnett was just found guilty of another three (yes, that's three) additional unrelated felonies involving the theft and destruction of a Pacific Bell installation van and associated equipment. He could get up to 16 more months jail time. You can read the CNN article here.
UPDATE 7/13/2001 11:30PM:
Today Burnett was sentenced to three years--the maximum. Sara was very pleased with Judge Kevin Murphy's decision (obviously) and also the words he spoke as he gave the sentence. It was clear that Judge Murphy didn't buy any of the several excuses Burnett had offered, and in fact was probably offended by the ridiculously implausible stories that Burnett rendered on various occasions.
Burnett was quoted in a news article saying "If there was anything I could do to bring Leo back, I would." No doubt, now that your sorry ass is looking at three years, punk. You killed the wrong dog this time.
UPDATE 6/19/2001 11:30AM:Today Andrew Douglas Burnett was found guilty of violating section 597(c), which reads:
"(1) That a person committed a grossly negligent act or omission, (2) that act or omission caused an animal to be cruelly killed."
He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kevin Murphy on July 13. He could get three years.
I was in the court with Sara today when the decision was read. The defendant requested through his attorney that the jurors be asked individually to confirm their verdict, and they did so.
Thanks above all to Phil Zaragoza, the Santa Clara Police Department detective who took over the case from the San Jose Police Department. Thanks to Troy Benson and Al Weger for their efforts in prosecuting the case. Thanks to "can't say", an informant who emailed this website with crucial information that led to the identification of Burnett, and the others who flooded this site with tips and support for Sara. Thanks to the witnesses who testified to the events, and the jurors who decided Burnett's fate. Thanks to the California Highway Patrol officer who helped prompt Zaragoza to action. Thanks to Burnett himself for continuing to do other stupid things that kept the police interested in him and led to his downfall. Thanks to members of the media for the publicity that played an important part in bringing Burnett to justice, particularly: Geoffrey Tomb from the SJ Mercury News who received our initial letter and published the first article on the crime, and also to Ronn Owens of KGO AM 810 who featured the case on several radio programs. Finally, thanks to Paul Prickett, the private investigator, for his help in investigating the case, to animal WARDS for helping fund the investigator, and to the Santa Clara Humane Society for managing the reward fund.
No thanks to the San Jose Police Department who seemed alternately disinterested and incompetent in their pursuit of this case. It was handed to them on a silver platter, and they blew it. Insufficient evidence? My ass. There was so much evidence that Burnett had to stipulate at the outset of the trial that he committed the act! The case would have gone nowhere with the San Jose police. Fortunately, Phil Zaragoza from the Santa Clara Police Department took over and pursued the investigation.
For the record, I believe the defense attorney, Marc Garcia, represented Burnett honorably though I know Sara feels otherwise. It must have sickened Garcia to have to deal with Burnett, but somebody had to do it and I think Garcia did a reasonable job given the circumstances.
For interest's sake, here is a photograph I took of Burnett's vehicle
in a PacBell parking lot early on while investigating the case. The view
is through a chain link fence in the foreground. That black strip
you placed on the top of your license plate didn't cover up "Virginia"
quite well enough, and parking way in back didn't hide you from my view.
We nailed you, you coward.
Rest in peace, Leo.
UPDATE 4/12/2001 5PM:
Today a grand jury indicted a man in the road rage killing of Leo.
The man has now been named publicly but his name isn't important at this
point. More information is available in this
San Jose Mercury News article .
NOTE: Unfortunately, the Mercury News removes articles from free
public view after a period of time and this article is no longer available
at the above link.
Everyone involved is extremely pleased at these developments (except presumably the man soon to be charged with the crime). Thanks to all those who made this possible.
UPDATE 2/16/2001 10AM:
The San Jose Mercury News has published
another article on the case entitled "Probe
of suspect in death of dog Leo gains momentum, officials say"
NOTE: Unfortunately, the Mercury News removes articles from free
public view after a period of time and this article is no longer available
at the above link.
Here is a revealing quote from the article, spoken by San Jose Police Department spokesman Rubens Dalaison: "We never wanted it [the case] in the first place." Yes, Rubens, that might explain a few things about the SJPD investigation. For the past month or so, the Santa Clara Police Department has been conducting the investigation and making excellent progress. The media should be asking the Santa Clara PD about the status of the investigation, not the San Jose PD who by their own admission have (and had) little interest in the case.
The Mercury News article is mostly accurate, but for the record, the anonymous email lead came in to this web site, and the name and place of work and photographs of the suspect vehicle were gathered by the creator of this web site (Sara's friend) and shared with Prickett and the police investigators. It also appears that one or more other tipsters gave similar information to the police at various times during the investigation, but that information was not shared with us until recently. Finally, Paul Prickett, the private investigator, was hired by Sara with the support of a benefactor from an animal organization named WARDS.
UPDATE 2/15/2001 10AM:
The police are holding a suspect in this case. He has not been charged but has been questioned. The San Jose Mercury news jumped the gun a little bit in reporting the story but hopefully no harm done. This information about the suspect being questioned was briefly up on this web site several weeks ago but removed immediately at the request of Sgt. Zaragoza, the Santa Clara PD officer who has been investigating the case for the past weeks.
The San Jose Mercury News story: "Police hold suspect in killing of Leo"
NOTE: Unfortunately, the Mercury News removes articles from free
public view after a period of time and this article is no longer available
at the above link.
UPDATE 2/1/2001 10AM:
A personal message from Sara.
UPDATE 12/21/2000 10AM:
This matter is still being pursued. Please check back soon for more developments.
UPDATE 5/3/2000 10AM: A message from Leo's mom, Sara McBurnett:First I would like to thank everyone who has responded to this website with their kind words of sympathy, and for the generous donations sent to the reward fund at the Santa Clara Humane Society. Believe me, I am more frustrated by the lack of progress made in this case than anybody. Closure of some sort would greatly help to ease the pain of my grief and sorrow for the loss of my beloved Leo. There is good news, and there is bad news regarding this case. The bad news is: the criminal who killed my dog may never be caught. This is unfortunately a very real possibility in every criminal investigation where a perpetrator has fled the scene of a crime. The good news is; many dogs have been helped, and many more will be helped thanks to the outpouring of sympathy given in monetary form in Leo's name not only to the Humane Society in Santa Clara, but to animal shelters, schools of veterinary medicine, and other worthwhile charities for needy animals across the country. The outpouring of love and good will from people around the world has been truly astounding. Leo will live on in the hearts of many, and many dogs will live on with a better quality of life because of my precious little boy who I loved with all my heart. I miss him terribly, and I would do anything to get him back, but because I cannot, I must focus on the good that has come of such a horrible and tragic loss of life. For an example of some of the beauty that has been expressed in the wake of my tragedy, please see this graphic and poem. This is just one example of the many hundreds of gestures of kindness and good will that I have received from around the world. I have not yet given up hope of catching the evil person who killed Leo. I am currently exploring the option of hiring a private investigator to pursue some of the leads we have received from this website. There is one in particular that I am very anxious to learn more about. Thanks again to all of you who care.
Love, Sara McBurnett
UPDATE 5/1/2000 10AM: Finally, last week the police
gave Sara a suspect photo lineup to review. Unfortunately, Sara did
not conclusively identify any of the photos as the suspect. She was not
able to exclude one of the photos, but the photo
quality was poor, and the suspect was wearing glasses in the picture that
obscured the face somewhat. Where from here? There are several leads
that still appear promising. A donor on the east coast has agreed to use
some of his reward fund donation to hire a private investigator, now that
the police have said that they are not pursuing the case aggressively
any longer. Though from the
SJPD's failure to take the initial 911 call from the scene seriously,
to the Ross Police's
failure to promptly transfer the written report down to the SJPD, to the
two week shelving of the report by the SJPD (they took
no action on the case until the news stories hit) . . . it is difficult
to characterize their investigation as "aggressive". On several occasions
we have called the SJPD to inquire about the status of a promising lead
reported to the police (and here as well, thankfully), only to find that
basic queries were not made.
UPDATE 3/17/2000 9AM: At long last, here is the suspect composite drawing from the eyewitnesses:
UPDATE 3/8/2000 12PM: At this point the reward fund is large enough that additional donations probably will not make the difference between someone reporting a lead and not. Therefore please consider making a donation instead to your local Humane Society or some other worthy charity. Your thoughts are always welcome here of course. If you cannot be dissuaded, the address of the reward fund is: Leo Reward Fund, c/o Humane Society of the Santa Clara Valley, 2530 Lafayette St., Santa Clara, CA 95050. We hope to have some news to report about the progress of the case soon.
UPDATE 3/5/2000 10AM:
UPDATE 3/3/2000 2PM: Thank you so much for your leads and messages of support. All of the hundreds of messages of support have been forwarded to Sara, and she very much appreciates your thoughts and leads. She hopes to thank everyone but it won't be possible for some time since she is occupied helping the police catch the culprit. Your messages have meant a great deal to her. At this point there are several strong leads. Watch this site soon for updates.
On Friday February 11th around 7:30 to 8PM, our friend Sara M. was driving on Airport Road near San Jose International Airport. A shiny black SUV, possibly a Dodge Durango, or a pickup with camper shell, possibly a Dodge Dakota, but with Virginia license plates in any case, swerved in front of Sara's car just before a left turn signal, and there was a minor fender bender resulting in very minor or no damage to both vehicles. Both cars stopped, and the driver of the other vehicle got out angrily and approached Sara's car. The other driver knocked on Sara's window, and Sara opened it. Sara's small dog Leo jumped on her lap to greet the other driver at the window, and Sara apologized to the other driver but explained that he cut in front of her suddenly. The other driver angrily reached inside Sara's window and grabbed Sara's small dog by the collar and neck and threw the dog into oncoming traffic! The dog was hit by an oncoming car. In a panic Sara got out of her car to retrieve her beloved pet, but the dog died on the way to the emergency vet.
The other driver ran back to his car and swerved across oncoming traffic leaving the scene of the crime. Again, the other vehicle was dark, probably black, and it had Virginia license plates. The make of the other car was possibly a Dodge Durango or some other SUV, or possibly a pickup with a camper shell. The other driver appeared to be in his 20's, was slight in build, about 5'10", white, with a goatee (though the coward has probably shaved it off by now to hide his miserable identity). The driver was wearing a baseball cap backwards. Several witnesses can identify this person, but we need a lead to find him.
Anyone having any information about this incident please contact the San Jose Police at 408 277-4161 or 408 277-8900 referencing case number 00048-9735.
For updates, please visit this website again. The address is www.interstice.com/leo
Thank you!
Contact Email: "leo 2 at interstice dot com" (the address is obfuscated to foil spam address harvesters; please remove all spaces, change the word 'at' to an '@' symbol and the 'dot' to a '.')
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