Shmuck of the Week: Steven Clay Romero, accused dog-dragger

You might say Steven Clay Romero sped off with our dishonor this week, dragging his freedom and dignity behind him, bloody and lifeless. How? By dragging a stranger's dog to death behind his car...

By Joe Tone

January 29, 2010

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

You might say Steven Clay Romero sped off with our dishonor this week, dragging his freedom and dignity behind him, bloody and lifeless.

How? By dragging a stranger's dog to death behind his car.

It went down at Colorado National Monument, near Grand Junction, late in December (he was indicted this week). Police say Romero's sister, 32-year-old Melissa Lockhart, stole a neighbor's German Shepard mix and asked Romero to get rid of it.

Romero obliged, in perhaps the least humane (not to mention inefficient) way possible: By tying the dog to the back of his car and driving until it was good and dead -- sort of like Chevy Chase in Vacation, only way less fictional.

Romero faces animal cruelty charges, not to mention the uncomfortable wrath of any dog-lovers who learn his story in prison. A petition seeking "justice for Buddy" -- by which we assume they mean dragging his ass behind a 1984 Civic with fuel-injection problems, the slower the better -- is gaining steam on Facebook, should you want to join in on the outrage.

In the meantime, he's our Shmuck of the Week.

Meet more shmucks in our Shmuck of the Week archive.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Westword has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.