Horse neglect
Greeneville, TN (US)Incident Date: Monday, Apr 21, 2003
County: Greene
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Roy Edward Tolliver, Jr - Alleged
» Cammy Hymen - Alleged
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Two people have been arrested and charged with cruelty to animals in connection with the 36 undernourished horses that were "rescued" from a leased Carpenter's Chapel Road pasture last fall. Roy Edward Tolliver Jr., 32, of 6255 West Andrew Johnson Highway, was arrested April 21 by Constable Gary Cutshaw, who was serving a capias from Greene County Criminal Court. A capias is similar to a warrant.
County Sheriff Steve Burns said this morning that Detective Ralph Roderick presented evidence to a grand jury last Monday, and presentments charging cruelty to the horses were returned against Tolliver and Cammy Hymen, 34, who was identified as his girlfriend.
Hymen, who the sheriff said also uses the name Cammy Atlasy, "turned herself in" last week. According to court documents, Tolliver posted $5,000 bond.
Both individuals charged are scheduled to appear May 3 for arraignment in Greene County Criminal Court.
The herd included horses, ponies, miniature horses and one donkey. Many of the animals had clearly visible ribs and protruding hip, back and shoulder bones when the matter came to the attention of officials.
Because farm animals were involved, state animal cruelty laws require a University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service agent to investigate and determine if the animals are being neglected.
Steve Hale, lead extension agent for Greene County, made such a determination on Nov. 6 and referred the case to the Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society. Land Was Leased Soon after the rescue, The Greeneville Sun reported that the land on which the horses were found was leased by Tolliver. The Sun at the time reported, "The horses and ponies had been kept on land owned by sisters Kathy Deyton, Joann Carpenter and Louise Bitner, but Deyton has said the sisters do not own the animals. "According to Deyton, the sisters rented the pasture last May (2002) to Ed Tolliver, former operator of the now-defunct Ed Tolliver Landscaping & Garden Center on the West Andrew Johnson Highway.
"At about 4:30 a.m. Saturday, two men, who Carpenter said are friends of Tolliver's, came to the pasture to take some of the horses and remove fencing so others could flee."
The Sun reported then that Bob Schubel, president of the local Humane Society, said Deyton made the men leave her property, and neighbors set up a "vigil" to prevent anyone else from coming to the pasture.
Three of the 36 malnourished horses died after being rescued, and the others faced a long road back to health, according to a Humane Society spokesman.
Kathy Webb, manager of the Humane Society's Animal Shelter on Hal Henard Road, said in December that the 33 surviving animals were in "foster care" at various locations around Greene and Knox counties pending court action in the case.
The horses were removed from the leased property under a court order after no one stepped forward to claim ownership.
The horses were taken from the leased pasture on Carpenters Chapel Road on Nov. 23 by volunteers from the Humane Society and Horse Haven Inc., a Knoxville-based horse-rescue organization. Veterinarians who examined the horses and ponies after they were rescued told the Humane Society that the animals, on average, weighed about 400 pounds less than they should have for their size, according to Webb.
Many were also infested with worms, she said, making their feeding problematic. Donations for food and veterinary care came both from from area residents and from people from other states.
Case UpdatesA Greene County Criminal Court jury took only a half-hour on Tuesday (Sept 30, 2003) to find Tollier guilty of cruelty to animals. Judge James E. Beckner sentenced Roy Edward Tolliver Jr., 32, to 11 months and 29 days in jail and imposed a $2,500 fine that had been recommended by the jury of 11 women and one man who heard the case.
The sentence and fine were the maximum possible for the "Class A" misdemeanor crime for which Tolliver was convicted, according to the judge, who said he found two enhancing factors applicable to Tolliver's case.
Under the sentence imposed on Sept 30, Tolliver will be eligible for release on probation after completing 50 percent of his sentence, Judge Beckner said.
Tolliver remains free on a previously posted $100,000 appearance bond pending appeal.
Judge Beckner also gave defense attorney R.B. "Buddy" Baird 30 days in which to file a motion for a new trial and scheduled a hearing on that motion for Oct. 31 in Rogersville.
Read more: Greene County Online | | Update posted on Oct 2, 2003 - 12:03AM |
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