Accused of animal cruelty, man pleads not guilty

FRANKLIN - A man accused of abandoning more than a dozen dogs, most of whom later had to be euthanized because they were vicious, entered a plea of not guilty yesterday.

Lester L. Labraney, 69, of Plains Road in Andover, was arrested in on July 29 after the police and staff of the Concord SPCA found three dead dogs and 16 living dogs in and around a rat-infested trailer whose floors were covered in urine, feces and garbage. Only five dogs survived.

Labraney pleaded not guilty to a charge of animal cruelty in Franklin District Court yesterday. If convicted, he will face up to a year in jail or a $2,000 fine. Labraney, who was convicted of manslaughter in Merrimack County in 1963, was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm because police said they found two .22 rifles when searching his home. That charge, a felony, could result in prison time.

Labraney is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 3 for a probable cause hearing for the felony and a status hearing for the animal-abuse charge.

- Elizabeth Walters

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