SEQUIM — A man facing misdemeanor animal cruelty charges who has recently been evicted from his property is now squatting along a county roadway, said Brian King, chief criminal deputy for the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
John Dashti, 61, was charged with two counts of animal cruelty in the second degree when he appeared in Clallam County District Court on July 31.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed the misdemeanor animal cruelty charges against Dashti on July 13.
Animal cruelty in the second degree is knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence inflicting unnecessary suffering or pain upon an animal under circumstances not amounting to first-degree animal cruelty, according to state statutes.
Charlie Commeree, a Clallam Public Defender attorney appointed by the court to represent Dashti, entered a not-guilty plea on his client’s behalf.
Dashti was released on $250 bond, which he paid in cash to the court Aug. 6.
He is scheduled to appear in court again at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 8 for a readiness hearing, District Court staff said Monday.
Depending upon the outcome of the hearing, an additional court date may be set two weeks later to confirm a trial date.
Dashti was informed in court July 10 he had 20 days to vacate his former property at the corner of Serenity Lane and Otter Way.
The property is managed by Steve Smith of Sequim, King said.
Deputies on July 29 were sent to Dashti’s home to ensure he was in compliance with the court order, King said.
If Dashti re-enters the property, “he can be arrested for trespass unless Steve Smith has given him permission to re-access the property,” King said.
Smith could not be reached for comment Monday.
“Steve is good to me. We are good friends,” Dashti told Peninsula Daily News on Monday afternoon.
Dashti said Smith had twice extended the amount of time he was allowed to stay on the property before deputies arrived to enforce the eviction.
When the eviction was enforced, Dashti “had already started making progress in moving a lot of his personal items off the property,” King said.
“The problem is, he was moving a lot of that onto the edges of the right of way on Otter.”
Otter Way, located to the south of Dashti’s former residence, extends from River Road west to a back channel of the Dungeness River.
“It is a county right of way easement,” King said.
Dashti “is squatting off the right of way onto” a forested property south of the roadway, King said.
Dashti currently has four travel trailers and a pickup truck parked on the south curb of the roadway.
“The street is empty and clean” to allow public use, Dashti said.
“He has a lot of his stuff that is certainly encroaching onto the timber there,” King said.
The Sheriff’s Office was attempting to contact the owner of the wooded property Monday, King said.
The Sheriff’s Office has given Dashti “as long as possible, hoping he would find a place to go, but he hasn’t,” King said.
Dashti said Monday he is about to sign a lease on another property where he can relocate.
The Sheriff’s Office is currently determining the “best way to bring this to a conclusion,” King said.
“We are out there evaluating the situation. We are meeting with the road department and attempting to come up with a solution that works for both the road department, and the sheriff’s department and Mr. Dashti in fixing the problem.”
At issue is the fact that Dashti is now homeless, King said.
“We are working with this guy . . . to really try to find him a place to go.”
Deputies “have been there multiple times every day” to check on Dashti’s progress in vacating the roadway, King added.
The Sheriff’s Office is “not going to let up,” King continued.
In late June, law enforcement officials confiscated nearly all of Dashti’s livestock because of parasitic load, malnourishment, lack of basic care and unsanitary conditions, King said.
On June 29, law enforcement returned to the property to confiscate two pigs, a Bernese mountain dog, 12 rabbits, various chickens and about 60 quail.
Those animals had been left behind during the initial seizure because a veterinarian on-site issued them a clean bill of health and deputies ensured they had adequate access to food and water.
That changed when one of Dashti’s three pigs died.
The dead pig established a basis for seizing the remaining animals, even though there was no outward sign of neglect, King said.
The seized animals were transported to the nonprofit Center Valley Animal Rescue near Quilcene.
The pig carcass was removed by law enforcement.
Investigators were awaiting the results from the necropsy of the pig to determine if Dashti could be charged with animal cruelty in the first degree.
“We did get that back, and it is inconclusive,” as to the manner of death, King said of the necropsy.
There is “no evidence that would support additional charges at this time,” King said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.