3 Charged With Stealing Pets for Experiments

Prosecutors filed felony charges Wednesday against three San Fernando Valley residents accused of luring pet owners into giving away dogs and cats that were then sold to medical laboratories.

Subsequently, most of the animals died in experiments at the laboratories, authorities said.

Barbara Ann Ruggiero, 25, Frederick John Spero, 43, both of Sylmar, and Ralf Jacobsen, 25, of Chatsworth were charged with 40 counts of felony theft of an animal for medical research purposes and with conspiracy to steal an animal for medical research, Deputy Dist. Atty. Norman Montrose said.

The three were charged with 73 misdemeanor theft and conspiracy charges Sept. 8. However, those charges are expected to be dismissed when the three defendants appear for arraignment in San Fernando Municipal Court on March 16, Montrose said.

Felony Charges

The felony charges were filed at the request of Ruggiero and her attorney, Robert Swanson, Montrose said. Deputy City Atty. Norman T. Wegener, one of the prosecutors in the case, said the stepped-up charges have some potential advantages for the defendants.

Wegener said the felony charges entitle the defendants to a preliminary hearing, which would give them a chance to have some of the charges against them dismissed before going to trial. But Wegener said that if convicted of the felony charges, the defendants could face stiffer penalties.

Attorneys for Jacobsen and Spero said the felony charges were filed over their clients’ objections.

The defendants were scheduled to appear for arraignment Thursday, but Ruggiero and her attorney were not present.

Ruggiero, the owner of two defunct Sun Valley kennels, along with Spero operated Biosphere, a company licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to sell animals for medical research.

Prosecutors allege that Ruggiero and Spero hired Jacobsen to obtain animals for free that were then sold to three Southern California research facilities for as much as $500 apiece.

Jacobsen got the animals by responding to classified advertisements offering free pets to good homes, according to prosecutors.