12/12/2003: 
Breaking News
Bull Sh*t
from Manchester Union Leader
RAYMOND [NH]- Police have charged a Manchester man after three of his bulls broke loose from a farm behind Raymond's middle school and went on a rampage, sending students, school staff and police officers running for cover...
The owner of the bulls, Hector Velez, 36, of 269 Central St., Apt. 1 (What is a guy who lives in an apartment doing with bulls?) in Manchester, was charged with animal cruelty and trespassing stock. Police filed the animal cruelty charge because they claim Velez knew the bulls got loose before they began charging at people, but he did nothing to catch them...
Police quickly arrived with plans to catch the bulls, but rounding them up proved nearly impossible. The 1,600-pound bull on the baseball field eventually plowed through a chain-link fence, raced through the nearby Pine Grove Cemetery, darted onto an old railroad bed and within minutes arrived on Route 107 next to Dunkin' Donuts.(This is what makes me think they are making it up) Police said the bull then dashed down Route 107, and once he arrived at the intersection with Route 101, ran out onto the highway. It took the bull less than eight minutes to run from the school to Route 101, Coope said...
As officers were pursuing the bull on Route 101, a second loose bull appeared on Harriman Hill Road. A motorist called police to report that the bull was coming toward her car. That bull made a few stops along the way before it was shot. It barged onto the Stone property on Quinlan Farm Road, but took off after Cecile the donkey reared his behind and gave the bull a swift kick.
"He doesn't back down from anything," said donkey owner Rita Stone.
1 Annotation Submitted
Monday the 15th of December, prof_booty noted:
Follow Up:
Owner apologizes for cattle rampage earlier this month
Published: Sunday, Dec. 14, 2003
RAYMOND (AP) - The owner of three steers that scared school kids and led police on a wild chase this month has apologized for the chaos.
Manchester businessman Hector Velez insisted he did everything possible to try to catch the animals before they began frightening the town, but said he accepts responsibility for the rampage and will pay for the damage.
Police had to shoot two of the cattle Dec. 5 because they were so violent that authorities said there was no way they could safely capture them.
One approached a playground where Raymond middle school students were on recess, and later raced out into traffic on Route 101, charging at officers and others who tried to nab it. Another went after a driver and then broke through fences on two farms.
Velez said he bought the animals a few days before the rampage, intending to have them slaughtered to supply beef for his large family.
He said he had never owned cattle before, and had nowhere to put them, so he accepted an offer from a friend, Angel Diaz, to keep them at Diaz's 10-acre property near the school. They arrived on Dec. 3 and broke out the next night.
Velez said he and others tried to catch the cattle, but couldn't and went home, with the animals still on the Diaz property.
"I thought they were scared, and if we left them on the property they would calm down and find their way back," Velez said.
When he returned the next morning, the animals were gone.
Police charged Velez with animal cruelty because, they said, he was aware the animals were loose, but left them and failed to immediately notify authorities to be on the lookout. Velez also faces trespassing stock charges.
Even with the criminal charges, he commended police for how they handled the situation.
