DA files formal charges in puppy killing case

The Nye County District Attorney has filed formal charges against the woman who allegedly shot her neighbor's puppy before telling her 15-year-old son to kill the canine.

On Wednesday, Judge Ron Kent doubled Maria Furtado's bail to $50,000, after the district attorney filed a six-count complaint, the most serious charge being felony child abuse and neglect in the commission of the alleged crime.

Furtado, who remains in custody at the Nye County Detention Center, has also been charged with felony preventing or dissuading a witness from reporting the crime, gross misdemeanor of discharging a firearm where a person might be endangered, and misdemeanor counts of contributory delinquency, petit larceny and offense involving stolen property.

Furtado is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Wednesday.

This week, Nye County Sheriff's deputies recovered a 9mm handgun they believe was used in the shooting, after receiving a call from the victim.

According to statements given to the Nye County Sheriff's Office, Furtado gave a bag of clothes to the victim, and a handgun police believe was used to kill the dog was at the bottom.

A relative of the dog's owner, Juanita Derr, said after court Wednesday she was surprised the gift bag and gun was not brought up in court on Wednesday.

"The prosecutor did say that the case had gotten worse but they didn't elaborate on it," she said. "When she told me about it, my first thought was the safety of the children and how it could have become a very disastrous situation."

Furtado also made a Facebook post asking the community's help to find the missing dog, stating the "family is devastated and inquiring whether anybody could help find the puppy."

Just minutes into Wednesday's proceedings, Kent made an announcement that Furtado's common law spouse recently filed a protection order against his wife in the days following her Aug. 9 arrest.

Kent said the actions of Furtado's spouse do not appear to match the defendant's own words during her initial court appearance last week.

During that hearing, Furtado described herself as a loving homemaker who routinely took care of her husband and kids, while pleading for Kent to release her from custody on her own recognizance.

"She indicated that if she was released she would return to the community as a homemaker with her common law husband and her children," Kent said. "My understanding is that an application has been granted for a temporary protective order by her loving and doting common law spouse."

Nye County Sheriff's deputies arrested Furtado three days after she allegedly removed a leashed six-month-old dog from a neighbor's front yard, drove with her 15-year-old and 3-year-old children into the desert where investigators say she shot the dog twice, wounding it before telling her son to shoot the still-alive canine.

The shooting, according to the complaint, occurred roughly 50 to 100 feet off of Cathedral Canyon Road.

Kent assigned defense attorney Lisa Chamlee to represent Furtado.

"You understand that your liberty is definitely at risk in this case as you could indeed be sent to jail and /or prison," he said. "That being the case, it is imperative that you have counsel."

Derr said she doesn't believe the 15-year-old should be held accountable for his actions as he was being directed by his mother.

Derr also said she doesn't believe Furtado was genuinely remorseful for her alleged actions.

"I think the only thing she might be remorseful for is that she can't be with her children," Derr said. "I think she is strong in her beliefs about what she did and we are going to follow this case until its conclusion."

Christi Kindel, representing the Nye County District Attorney's office, said Furtado poses a danger to her family and the community at-large if she were to bail out of jail.

Kindel also said the case is actually worse than when she first appeared before Kent.

"Our concern is the children that are still in the house and she has nowhere to go and she still has contact with the children," she said. "The charges are very serious. She contributed to the delinquency of the children and she actually abused and neglected the children by partaking in this kind of behavior and we want those children protected from her."