Owner of dog that killed
boy will not see jail

HANALEI, Kauai » The owner of a mixed-breed dog that killed a 17-month-old boy last year will most likely not go to jail after agreeing to a plea bargain with Kauai prosecutors yesterday in Hanalei District Court.

Buenaventura Ednilao pleaded no contest to negligently failing to prevent a dangerous dog from attacking a person, a petty misdemeanor, in court proceedings.

While a judge could sentence Ednilao, 59, to the maximum -- 30 days' imprisonment and a $1,000 fine -- prosecutors agreed to ask for a $500 fine when he is sentenced Sept. 20.

Ednilao was not ordered to pay restitution, but a lawsuit brought by the parents of the boy, Trusten Heart Liddle, is likely. By law the no-contest plea cannot be used as part of any lawsuit.

Liddle was playing on his family's farm in Moloaa in northeastern Kauai last February when he was bitten by the basset hound/shepherd mix, which had been kept on a chain on Ednilao's property next door.

Ednilao had the dog destroyed soon after the incident.

Ednilao's attorney, Charles O'Neill, said after court he would not comment on the case until sentencing.

The Liddle family did not make an appearance in court, and their lawyer, Susan Marshall, did not return a call for comment.