The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) at Title 9 Chapter 08 Section 070 (RCW
9.08.070) provides that any person who willfully or recklessly kills or
injures any pet animal with intent to deprive or defraud the owner of the
animal shall, if convicted, be guilty of a gross misdemeanor and shall be
punished as prescribed under RCW 9A.20.021(2) and by a mandatory fine of not
less than five hundred dollars per pet animal.
 
RCW 9A.20.021(2) states every person convicted of a gross misdemeanor shall
be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a maximum term fixed by
the court of not more than one year, or by a fine in an amount fixed by the
court of not more than five thousand dollars, or by both such imprisonment
and fine.
 
RCW 7.68.035 provides for penalty assessments in addition to fine or bail
and is in the amount of Five Hundred Dollars for any case that includes one
or more gross misdemeanor convictions.  This penalty assessment goes into a
county fund for crime victim and witness programs.
 
James Pembrook Scott
[Posted in FML issue 2147]