Case Details


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Case ID: 12925
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: horse
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Horses transported inhumanely
Wadsworth, IL (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Oct 27, 2007
County: Lake

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» Keith Tongen
» James Anderson

An arrest warrant was issued last week for a Brownton man, stemming from charges of animal cruelty.

Horse owner Keith Tongen said people around town have heard about the warrant, but so far he has seen neither hide nor hair of it. "'Oh, you're loose, huh?'" is what Tongen said others have jokingly asked him.

Lake County, Ill., authorities charged Tongen last Wednesday with four misdemeanor counts of cruel treatment of animals and one count of failure to provide humane care and treatment of animals, according to the Chicago Tribune. He faces a year of prison time for each of the cruel treatment charges and six months of jail time on the humane care charge.

The charges are related to a crash that occurred Oct. 27, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 41 and Wadsworth Road in Wadsworth, Ill. A horse trailer delivering horses Tongen had purchased tipped over, and 19 horses died as a result of the crash.

According to Tongen, the double-decker trailer was carrying 59 Belgian draft horses he'd bought from an Amish community in northern Indiana. They were en route to an auction in Verndale, Minn.

Tongen said the truck driver, James Anderson, 34, of McLeod, N.D., was swerving to avoid a pickup truck in an intersection when the trailer overturned. Had the driver not swerved, Tongen said, the accident could have resulted in dead people, not just dead horses.

Anderson, who also faces animal cruelty charges, appeared in a Lake County traffic court Monday on charges of disobeying a traffic control device and failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident. According to the Lake County Court, Anderson's charges were dropped.

Tongen is still seeking legal advice, but does not expect to be arrested on his warrant anytime soon. Bail for both Tongen and Anderson was set at $100,000, according to the Chicago Tribune, but Lake County authorities won't be hunting either man down.

Tongen said he was told, "If we were to catch you in Illinois, then we would serve the papers on you."

References


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