Horse shot with arrow, bleeds to death
Vineland, NJ (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Jan 21, 2007
County: Gloucester
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Jason Allen - Convicted
» Kamren C. Johnston
» Mark E. Simmermon
Case Updates: 5 update(s) available
Cops are hunting for a man who killed a family's horse with an arrow in Gloucester County. The 9-year-old horse, named Cutie, was owned by Jack Ireland, his wife and their young daughter.
"I raised her from a baby," Jack Ireland said Friday from his home in Franklin Township, five days after the horse was found dead by a family friend.
"This is devastating. I'm totally destroyed over this," Ireland said. "My daughter? ... Well, upset is not the word."
The horse bled to death after being shot with a broadhead arrow, normally used for hunting deer. At least two arrows were shot at the horse; one hit a storage shed, the other hit the animal in the chest.
"It was obviously shot by someone who knew where to shoot an animal," Police Chief Michael DiGiorgio said.
"We're working things through with the state Fish and Game agency," DiGiorgio added. "The individual who did this has some connection to hunting, based on skill of shooting and knowledge of animal anatomy."
No one was home at the time of the attack and, no witnesses have come forward. The attack happened sometime between the evening of Jan. 20 and the morning of Jan. 21, 2007.
Case UpdatesThe Lindenwold man who admitted using a bow and arrow to kill a rodeo horse while it grazed at a Franklinville field will be sentenced on Aug. 15.
Jason Allen, 20, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty on Monday in connection with the killing of a 9-year-old mare named Cutie on Jan. 21, 2007.
He was also charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, criminal trespassing and conspiracy, but those charges will be dropped as part of Allen's plea agreement, said Bernie Weisenfeld, a spokesman for the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office.
Allen will be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Christine Allen-Jackson and faces up to 18 months in jail.
Two other Lindenwold men who were with Allen the night Cutie was killed -- Mark E. Simmermon, 20, and Kamren C. Johnston, 25, -- also face charges, but did not enter a plea, authorities said.
The horse was owned by Jack Ireland of Tuckahoe Road, who often rode her at team roping contests. Cutie was one of seven horses owned by Ireland, 51, a trucker who often competes at rodeos.
When Cutie was killed, Allen was already facing burglary charges for allegedly breaking into an unoccupied Laurel Springs home with three other teenagers on Dec. 29, 2006. They did not steal anything, authorities said.
The disposition of that case was unavailable Tuesday.
In 2005, aggravated assault charges against Allen were dropped in a road-rage incident in which he punched and killed a man.
Former Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi said Allen acted in self-defense. | Source: Courier Post Online - June 25, 2008
Update posted on Jun 25, 2008 - 11:38PM |
Jack Ireland never met a tougher, more stubborn female than Cutie. He's pretty sure she felt the same way about him.
When things got heated, the couple would often ignore each other for days. Ireland would stew inside his Franklin Township, Gloucester County, farmhouse and Cutie would do the same, in the barn. Ireland's daughter, Brittany, just a toddler, would try to smooth things out by talking to Cutie for hours. Deep down, though, Jack and Cutie were crazy about each other.
"Me and her, we just fit like a glove," Ireland said recently from his current home in North Carolina.
From the time he bought her as a foal in Shawnee, Okla., to the years he spent breaking her in as a filly for competitive rodeo competitions throughout the country, Ireland formed a bond with his horse that few people could understand.
But three men certainly did not.
Ireland said Cutie was shot in the chest with a broadhead arrow while she stood beneath a street light in a fenced-in yard at the family's former home on Tuckahoe Road on Jan. 21, 2007. The 9-year-old mare bled to death.
Authorities said Jason Allen, 20, Kamren C. Johnston, 26, and Mark A. Simmermon, 22, were "spotting" deer in the area, and two of them fired two shots at the horse from a vehicle. One struck a storage shed and the other hit Cutie.
Ireland said Cutie was hit "dead-on."
Allen, a former standout football player at Lindenwold High School, will plead guilty to animal-cruelty charges today before Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson in Gloucester County Superior Court in Woodbury, said his attorney, Jeffrey Zucker.
"It's just the right thing to do for everybody involved," Zucker said. "He has no other record and just wants to get on with his life."
All three suspects face charges that include animal torture and mutilation, criminal trespass and conspiracy. Johnston's and Simmermon's cases are still pending.
Allen made headlines in September 2005 for punching a man to death during a road-rage incident in Lindenwold. Authorities say James Munter, 53, followed Allen home after the teen had cut him off on the road. When Allen parked and crossed the street, Munter hit him with his car. Allen rolled across the hood, landed on his feet and punched Munter twice in the head. Munter later died at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
Allen was initially charged with aggravated assault in the case but that charge was dropped a month after the incident.
Gloucester County Assistant Prosecutor Dana Anton says animal cruelty is a fourth-degree offense in New Jersey, which means Allen could face up to 18 months in jail for Cutie's death.
"This was just a very deliberate and cold-hearted act," she said. "Unfortunately, we're very limited in what we can do to prosecute these types of offenses."
Ireland says Cutie came from a prominent bloodline, and estimates her value at approximately $25,000. He rode Cutie in numerous team-roping events, where two people on horseback attempt to lasso and take down a steer. At one point, she was a source of income for the family.
"She wasn't making me millions but I won a lot of money out of that girl," he said. "She was in her prime, just starting to find herself."
Ireland says he bought a pony for his daughter, now 6, to help fill the void left by Cutie's death. She named it Cutie.
"She still asks why this all happened," Ireland said. "I still don't have an answer." | Source: Philadelphia Daily News - June 23, 2008
Update posted on Jun 23, 2008 - 12:17PM |
Three Lindenwold men accused of killing a horse with hunting arrows in Franklinville in January were indicted by a Gloucester County grand jury on charges of animal cruelty and trespassing.
The three men, Jason R. Allen, 19, Kamren C. Johnston, 25, and Mark A. Simmermon, 21, were indicted Wednesday on charges related to shooting Cutie, a 9-year-old mare, on Jan. 21. All are charged with animal torture and mutilation, criminal trespass and conspiracy.
Simmermon and Allen also face charges of possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and unlawful possession of a weapon.
All three men also face civil charges of animal cruelty and torture initiated by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Cutie was shot while standing under a street light in a fenced in yard off Tuckahoe Road, according to Sgt. Jane Donoghue, an officer with the SPCA.
"This is an extreme case,'' Donoghue said. "We hope our New Jerseyans are a little more educated so they do not hurt the animals.''
In South Jersey, there are thousands of cases of animal cruelty each year. About 20 or 25 per year are considered extreme, Donoghue said.
"It is incumbent upon this office to handle this case with an eye toward the seriousness of the defendants' actions,'' Michelle Jeneby, an assistant Gloucester County prosecutor, said in a prepared statement. "An indictment against these defendants confirms that such behavior will not be tolerated by this office nor by the citizens of Gloucester County.''
Camden attorney Jeffrey Zucker represents Allen, according to the prosecutor's office. Zucker was not available for comment on Thursday.
Simmermon and Johnston have not hired attorneys.
Cutie was owned by Jack and Tracey Ireland. The couple moved to Dunn, N.C., in February and were in the process of transporting their horses to their new home when Cutie was shot and killed in a field off Tuckahoe Road.
"I raised her from a baby,'' Jack Ireland said. "I broke her myself.''
The horse was valued at about $15,000, Jack Ireland said of his prize mare. He intended to breed her because of her bloodlines in the near future.
Tracey Ireland said her husband, a horse lover and rodeo man, has been changed by the horse's killing.
"He's not himself anymore,'' she said. "He misses her. They used to go roping every weekend, and now he hardly ever goes.''
"My daughter still cries when she thinks of Cutie,'' Tracey Ireland said of her 5-year-old daughter Brittany.
"I think there should be a tough punishment for people who do things like this. It's just wrong.'' | Source: Asbury Park Press - June 22, 2007
Update posted on Jun 22, 2007 - 8:08PM |
Three men were jailed February 9, 2007 and held with high cash bail on charges related to the bow-and-arrow killing of a horse three weeks ago.
One of those arrested is a 20-year-old who until recently lived next door to the farm on Tuckahoe Road where the horse was kept.
Arrested were Jason Allen, 18, of Eighth Avenue in Lindenwold; Kamren C. Johnston, 25, of Fourth Avenue in Lindenwold; and Mark E. Simmermon Jr., 20, who resided on Tuckahoe Road until moving to Laurel Road in Lindenwold just before Christmas.
"They were just driving around, spotting deer, looking for something to shoot at," explained Franklin Township Police Detective Sgt. Rick O'Brien. Authorities believe two of the men shot at the horse while the third stayed inside the vehicle. The horse was worth $15,000. The 9-year-old mare named Cutie was found dead on Jan. 21, 2007. Shot once in the chest, she apparently bled to death. An errant arrow was also recovered near a storage shed, police said.
During the course of executing multiple search warrants, township police believe they found the bow used in the incident. Township police spent countless hours investigating the incident before taking the three into custody, according to O'Brien. "With all of the animal activists, I think people take it seriously," said O'Brien.
The horse's owner, Jack Ireland, was not available for comment. Shortly after the incident, he told the Times that he and his family were "devastated" by the loss. Cutie had "another good 10 years in her," he said. The family is "very happy" with the arrests, O'Brien reported. "It sounded like the guy was in tears when we called him on the telephone," O'Brien said.
The three men were charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession for an unlawful purpose, criminal trespassing, conspiracy to commit the above offenses and animal cruelty. Bail was set by Judge Nicholas Lacovara at $100,000 cash for Allen, and $50,000 cash for Simmermon and Johnston. They were being held at the Gloucester County Jail.
The state Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the New Jersey Department of Conservation and the Lindenwold Police Department assisted in the investigation. | Source: NJ.Com News - February 10, 2007
Update posted on Feb 11, 2007 - 2:56AM |
Police have been searching for a major lead this week after a family's horse was shot and killed with an arrow on Tuckahoe Road on Jan 21.
"We're actively investigating this," said Chief Michael DiGiorgio. "We have a couple leads we're trying to run down, but there's nothing substantial."
The 9-year-old horse, named Cutie, was owned by Jack Ireland, his wife and their young daughter. Cutie had been roping for five years and "probably had another good 10 years in her," Ireland added.
"This is devastating. I'm totally destroyed over this," Ireland said from his home Friday. "I'm hoping there was more than one (culprit), because then they're going to talk."
The arrow used to kill the horse had a broadhead, which is ordinarily used for hunting animals such as deer, DiGiorgio noted. There were two arrows shot at the horse. One hit a storage shed, the second arrow hit the animal.
It appears the horse bled to death, according to police.
"It was obviously shot by someone who knew where to shoot an animal" in order to kill it, the chief said.
The death was reported by Ireland, who wasn't home when the incident occurred. Apparently, no one witnessed the shooting.
Ireland and his family, who have lived on Tuckahoe Road for 11 years, are in the process of moving to North Carolina. He'll spend a week or two there and then return to Franklinville for a couple of weeks.
The shooting occurred sometime after 8 p.m., Ireland figured.
"I had a friend of mine taking care of Cutie," he explained. "He fed her at 6 p.m. Saturday night. All of her hay was gone, which takes two hours."
Another friend of Ireland's, a fellow horseman, drove by Ireland's home on Sunday morning and noticed Cutie lying on the ground. After finding an arrow in the animal's chest, the friend called Ireland in North Carolina.
Franklin Township police sent both arrows to the Gloucester County Crime Scene Unit.
There's a host of charges that would accompany the horse's death, including cruelty to animals, police said.
"We're working things through with the state Fish and Game agency," DiGiorgio explained. "The individual who did this has some connection to hunting, based on skill of shooting and knowledge of animal anatomy."
Police are offering a $1,000 reward through the Franklin Township Crime Stoppers program for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for killing the horse.
Ireland and his brother-in-law are also offering a combined $2,000 reward.
"What if my daughter and I were out there at the time, and they shot us?" Ireland asked. "(Cutie was my) team-roping horse and I've won a lot of money off of that. I've been living off of her. I've raised her from a baby.
"My daughter? ... well, upset is not the word." | Source: Gloucester County Times - Jan 27, 2007
Update posted on Feb 1, 2007 - 11:44AM |
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