“I’ve been called a lot of things in my career, some of them not so kind. But to be labeled an animal abuser is beyond the pale and that is simply a role I will not accept.” This was the statement released by actor Steven Seagal after he was accused of shooting a dog while filming a raid for his reality series A&E “Lawman”.
Jesus Sanchez Llovera filed an official notice of claim, accusing Seagal of killing his 11-month-old puppy more than 100 of his roosters together with destroying his home through a raid after it was tipped that he was raising roosters for cockfighting.
Seagal and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Llovera and his attorney Joseph Campos are making the story to gain fame and money. “Llovera wants money and his attorney wants notoriety,” Seagal says. “Just look at Campos’ website and the first thing you see is his 15 minutes of fame on Inside Edition talking about this.”
The Sheriff’s Department said, “No dog was even injured, much less killed, during the operation. In fact, no firearm was discharged during the course of this operation. According to witnesses at the raid, a dog was present on Jesus Llovera’s property when deputies and SWAT team members, of whom Seagal was one, entered the premises with a search warrant to arrest Llovera on cockfighting charges and seize all evidence pertaining to the crime.”
Llovera also seeks compensation from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who, like Seagal, denies the incident with the dog ever happened.
But Arpaio said there are no evidence like photos to back up this claim. It was also obvious that this is just for money because the incident happened five months ago.
Seagal has reportedly contacted his lawyer to sue Llovera for his “fabricated claim” But Llovera’s attorney said his client Llovera did not sue and just want to ask for apology from Seagal. On the other hand, Llovera is seeking $25,000 against the sheriff’s office for humiliation, emotional distress and property damage.
“My client never accused Seagal of having anything to do with the death of his puppy,” Campos said. “He (Llovera) just wanted an apology from Seagal for his role in the destruction of my client’s home, property and animals.”
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