The lawyer for the former manager of a now-defunct Waimanalo puppy breeding operation Thursday was granted a three-week continuance to acquaint himself with his client’s 153 misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty.
David Lee Becker, 37, has been held in lieu of $200,000 bail since he was extradited to Honolulu last Friday from Las Vegas.
Deputy Public Defender Jin Tae Kim Thursday morning requested the continuance until mid-July because he said he needs time to review the 1,500-page criminal complaint and numerous accompanying photos.
Kim later said he needs the time "to examine all the documents" to determine Becker’s defense.
Deputy Prosecutor Jan Futa argued that two weeks would be adequate.
"This has been pending for a long time," Futa told the judge. "We are anxious to go to trial."
But District Judge David Lo approved Kim’s request and set Becker’s arraignment for 8:30 a.m. July 12 in Kaneohe District Court.
Becker, dressed in a brown T-shirt and gray shorts, did not speak at Thursday’s proceedings.
He managed the Waimanalo operation in 2010 for Bradley International, which pleaded no contest to similar complaints in December.
Each misdemeanor count carries a maximum $2,000 fine and up to a year in jail.
Becker was charged May 26, 2011, but left the state before he was served with the criminal complaints alleging the business amounted to a so-called puppy mill.
The Hawaiian Humane Society tracked him to Las Vegas and gave the information to the Honolulu prosecutor’s office, which obtained a special gubernatorial warrant for his extradition. He was detained June 8.
Earlier this week, Becker said in court that he had hired a private attorney and intended to return.
Acting on two complaints, the Humane Society and Honolulu police seized 153 dogs on Feb. 28, 2011. The dogs were found to be emaciated and covered with sores and their own feces.
Bradley International was ordered to pay $370,701 in restitution to the Humane Society for the recovery of the animals. The company also was fined $2,000 for each count of animal cruelty, totaling $306,000, and ordered to pay $8,415 in court costs.
But because the company has gone out of business, none of the fines or restitution will be paid.
