Farm animals starved
Fayetteville, NC (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jan 5, 2007
County: Cumberland
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Todd Franken
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
Harnett County animal control officers have taken several horses, goats and a donkey away from a man accused of neglecting the animals to the brink of starvation.
When officers first arrived at the home, some of the six horses had ribs showing through their sides because of malnutrition, animal control supervisor Tino Medina said.
"Two of the horses looked like they were starved to death at that time," Medina said. "It was a bad situation, the way the animals were being cared for."
Officials had to euthanize one of the horses because it was anemic.
Animal control cited Todd Franken of Cumberland County on seven charges of neglect. Franken was recently charged with cruelty to his goats and was barred from owning animals for two years.
Franken is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 22.
Case UpdatesA neighbor of a man who walked out of court a free man on animal abuse charges is sending a letter to District Attorney Susan Doyle about the way the case was handled.
Pete Peterson is a neighbor of Todd Franken, 38, of Fayetteville, who was facing seven misdemeanor charges that he starved six horses on a farm south of Lillington. One of the horses eventually had to be euthanized because of anemia. He faced an additional charge involving several goats which were left penned in a small area.
Mr. Peterson had to be restrained from going after Mr. Franken following court on Monday, where Mr. Franken received a prayer for judgment on the seven charges.
Mr. Franken, represented by Dunn attorney Gerald Hayes, asked Judge Jimmy Love for the prayer for judgment, even though it was Mr. Franken's second offense involving animals. He was banned from owning animals in an earlier case because several that he owned were seen running on roadways near his farm.
Assistant District Attorney Lovely Thomas agreed to the request, and Judge Love granted it.
Mr. Hayes said a prayer for judgment means his client did not contest the charges and the case is left open by the district attorney's office, meaning if Mr. Franken violates the law again he could be prosecuted.
"It really doesn't matter, because he is moving to Texas," Mr. Hayes said, adding that Mr. Franken is also leaving the U.S. Army in which he currently serves.
Mr. Franken will serve no time in jail for his latest offenses, which is not acceptable to Mr. Peterson.
"The justice system was thrown in the toilet bowl today," Mr. Peterson said. "They did not investigate this case the way they should have."
He said the animals are the ones that suffered in the case.
"The horse he starved was a beautiful animal, and it makes you want to cry," he said.
There was also conflict between animal control and the district attorney's office about the plea.
Ms. Thomas said she agreed to the plea after consulting with animal control officers.
"That is what animal control was happy with, so that is what we went with," Ms. Thomas said.
But Animal Control Supervisor Tino Medina said the agreement reached between the district attorney and the defendant was not the one he wanted.
"We thought the agreement was that he would plead guilty to all seven charges, not no contest," Mr. Medina said. "We also wanted to get it so he couldn't own animals for five years."
Mr. Medina said the ban on keeping animals could not be included because Mr. Franken is already on probation from the previous charges. | Source: Dunn Daily Record - Feb 27, 2007
Update posted on Feb 27, 2007 - 2:12PM |
A man charged with starving seven horses, resulting in the death of one of the animals, will make his next appearance in court Monday.
Todd Franken, 38, of Fayetteville will face seven misdemeanor accounts of animal neglect when he appears in District Court. Six of the charges involve horses he owned which were not fed. One of the horses was eventually euthanized because of anemia.
The other charge involves several goats which were left penned in a small area.
Mr. Franken is being represented by Dunn attorney Gerald Hayes. Mr. Hayes said last month Mr. Franken did not own the horses at the time the animals were found.
The starvation charge was the second time animal control officers responded to Mr. Franken's property. Earlier he was banned from owning animals because they were seen running loose on local roadways. | Source: Dunn Daily Record - Feb 23, 2007
Update posted on Feb 26, 2007 - 1:50PM |
A Fayetteville man facing charges of starving horses to the point of starvation in Harnett County has claimed he did not own the animals at the time of his arrest and said he plans to plead not guilty at his next court appearance.
Todd Franken, 38, faces seven charges of neglect after Harnett animal control officers were called to a farm near Lillington by a woman left to care for the horses.
Six of the charges are for horses that were not fed to the point of near starvation. One of the animals became anemic and eventually had to be euthanized.
The other charges involves 13 goats that were penned up in a small area.
It was the second time officers had gone to the farm. An earlier call involved animals running loose in the area.
A judge at that time ordered Mr. Franken, an officer in the U.S. Army, to sell his animals and his attorney, Gerald Hayes of Dunn, said that is what he did.
"I have bills of sale that say he sold the animals before these (new) charges were filed," Mr. Hayes said.
Mr. Hayes said Mr. Franken doesn't understand his charges.
"He is dumbfounded about what is going on," Mr. Hayes said.
Harnett County animal control officer Tino Medina said Mr. Franken has told him he is not guilty and has threatened legal action against animal control.
"He said he wasn't doing anything wrong and he was talking about how he was going to sue us," Mr. Medina said.
Leaders of the People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals have contacted District Attorney Susan Doyle and asked her to make sure Mr. Franken never owns animals again and that he get mental help.
Don Paden, a researcher for PETA, said Mr. Franken should be barred from owning animals.
"Because repeat crimes are the rule rather than the exception among animal abusers, and given the defendant's apparent prolonged and utter disregard for these animals' lives and suffering, we implore your office to take every measure necessary to ensure that the convict is barred for life from owning animals and to immediately seize any animals that remain in his charge," Mr. Paden wrote to Mrs. Doyle.
Mr. Paden also said he thinks Mr. Franken needs mental evaluation.
"On behalf of our thousands of members and supporters in North Carolina we respectfully ask that, if convicted and in addition to serving a period of incarceration, Franken be required to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation followed by mandatory counseling at his own expense," Mr. Paden said.
Mrs. Doyle said this morning she had not yet received the letter.
Mr. Medina said the other horses, goats and the donkey taken from Mr. Franken are recovering from their ordeal. They were given to other caretakers after they were seized from Mr. Franken.
"We check on them every day and everyone is OK," Mr. Medina said. He said he plans to use their improved condition as evidence in court.
"We want to show pictures of them healthy so we can show how they gained weight when they were cared for properly," Mr. Medina said.
Mr. Franken will appear in court on the charges on Jan. 22. | Source: My Daily Record - January 11, 2007
Update posted on Jan 11, 2007 - 2:35PM |
A Fayetteville resident who was ordered by a judge not to keep animals has been charged with seven counts of animal cruelty.
Harnett County Animal Control Officer Steve Berube said he filed charges against Todd Franken, 38, of 3424 Hastings Drive, on Dec. 28.
Franken was keeping a donkey, six horses, and 13 goats on a farm on Loop Road, south of Lillington. Berube said the donkey was fine, but he could count the ribs and vertebrae of the horses.
“We had to put one down,” he said about a red quarter horse mare.
A veterinarian determined that the horse had developed a heart murmur and was anemic.
“She basically just gave up on life,” Berube said.
The animals were taken from the farm.
The goats were not underweight, though a few had overgrown hooves. They were kept in a 15 foot by 15 foot enclosure, half full of water.
“Two months ago, they were all fat and pretty,” Berube said about the animals. “It surprised me to see them in the shape they were in.”
In October, Berube said, he saw the animals after goats and horses escaped from the farm. District Court records show Franken was found guilty in November of animal cruelty charges and ordered not to own animals during probation. His probation was still in effect in December. | Source: Fay Observer - Jan 6, 2007
Update posted on Jan 7, 2007 - 12:17AM |
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