The Hollywood man accused of killing Ollie the pit bull will head to trial this fall, nearly two years after the animal cruelty case made headlines.
Brendan Evans, 32, stands accused of stabbing Ollie more than 50 times, then trapping him inside a blue suitcase, still breathing. A couple passing by heard cries coming from the suitcase and called police. That was on Oct. 10, 2017. The dog died two days later.
Evans, who has pleaded not guilty to 17 counts of animal cruelty, made a rare appearance in court Tuesday, dressed in dark navy prison garb, with his hands cuffed and ankles shackled.
It was the first time Evans had appeared in court since his arraignment in November 2017. Scheduled hearings have been canceled seven times over the past year.
In court filings, defense attorney Sarah Anne Mourer has cited the intense public interest in the case as a reason for delaying the trial, to give the community and media “substantial time to calm down or redirect their attention to other matters.”
And at Tuesday’s hearing, she argued that any reporters in the courtroom be removed.
Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein rejected the request.
Prosecutor Maria Schneider said she hopes to try the case this year.
On Tuesday, the judge said he plans to set a trial date for September, if both sides are ready.
Mourer still has lots of witnesses to interview, she told the judge.
She has not yet decided whether Evans will take the stand, Mourer said outside the courtroom.
In previous interviews, she said Evans began showing signs of mental illness in his 20s. She declined to say Tuesday whether that will become part of his defense.
When Ollie’s story first broke, it went viral.
The vets who tended to his wounds said they expected him to survive, prompting calls from hundreds of people wanting to give him a home.
But Ollie would die two days later. Soon, nearly $60,000 in donations poured in to help find his attacker.
Even after all this time, those horrified by the story still keep track of the case.
That includes Stephanie Stokes, an animal lover from Nevada who says Ollie still remains fresh in her mind.
“Living in Las Vegas we have a lot of crime happening daily, but I have never in 33 years heard a story like little Ollie’s,” she said. “I promised myself to keep [him] in my mind. We haven’t forgotten about Ollie.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4554. Find her on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan.