Both pretrials for graduate student Andrew David Thompson, charged with 13 counts of dog killing, were rescheduled Tuesday.
The pretrial and preliminary examination dates for three counts of animal killing in East Lansing Thompson faces were rescheduled to give his new lawyer time to prepare.
Thompson, 24, temporarily was represented by attorney George Zulakis but now is represented by attorney Kimberly Savage.
The change was finalized before Thompson went to court Tuesday morning when his pretrial first was scheduled.
Thompson was held in the East Lansing jail and was unable to make it on time for his pretrial in the 55th District Court — scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday.
He is being detained temporarily in the East Lansing Police Department but will transfer to the Ingham County Jail in the next few days.
After living in the apartment across from Thompson’s in Okemos for several months, zoology senior Denae Baker never noticed anything suspicious about Thompson.
Her apartment shared a wall with Thompson’s, and although she never heard dogs barking, it might have been difficult for her to hear depending on which room Thompson kept his animals in, she said.
Several other residents in apartments surrounding Thompson’s confirmed they did not hear dogs barking at any time while he lived there.
Baker never saw any of Thompson’s dogs, she said.
“He seemed pretty normal,” Baker said. “He was obviously good at hiding it.”
Thompson was suspended from the College of Osteopathic Medicine June 23 because of allegations against him.
He faces expulsion from the college pending his legal investigation, said William Strampel, dean of MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Academically, Thompson was one of the top students in his class, Strampel said.
“He was a very bright young man — he had no academic trouble at all,” Strampel said.
Although admission to the College of Osteopathic Medicine is competitive, Thompson was qualified enough to make the cut, Strampel said.
Thompson does not have any previous criminal record, his first attorney George Zulakis said in a previous interview.
“How do you screen out something like this?” Strampel said. “You can’t do it — it’s ludicrous.”
The allegations against Thompson came as a shock to Baker, especially because of his plans to become a doctor, she said.
“That’s pretty scary that someone in such a respected position could have such a dark personality,” Baker said.
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The 54-B District Court pretrial is scheduled for July 26, and his preliminary examination is scheduled for July 29.
His pretrial in the 55th District Court was rescheduled for Thursday.
