Farmed animal neglect, goats found dead
Martinsburg, WV (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008
County: Berkeley
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Debrah Honey Snider
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A 55-year-old Hedgesville woman has been charged Wednesday with four felony counts of animal cruelty and five counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, according to records.
Debrah Honey Snider, of 75 Wolf Hollow Road, faces the felony complaints after five dead goats were found lying on a burn pile in a pasture on property she owns in Martinsburg, records show.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Deputy J.H. Jenkins with the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department, Snider said the goats died after she dehorned them. The four misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty involve three horses and a goat, according to Berkeley County Magistrate JoAnn Overington who set bond at $35,000 which Snider posted.
Overington ordered that Snider have no possesion of an animal.
"All animals on the property have been seized," said county Animal Control Officer Donna McMahan Wednesday night.
Because the investigation into the case is ongoing, McMahan declined to comment.
According to a criminal complaint, Officers T. Murphy and R. Twigg from Berkeley County Animal Control met with a complaintant on June 19 concerning the welfare of livestock at the end of Legado Drive in Martinsburg. The person advised the officers that there were five dead goats lying on a burn pile in the pasture. When the officers went into the pasture, they discovered the goats, which were all under a year old.
While on the property the officers also inspected a stallion, seven mares, 15 to 20 goats and two longhorn cows, many of which suffered from malnourishment and showed signs of neglect.
On a return visit two days later, a chestnut mare was found to have a large hematoma on the right side of her stomach and her vaginal area was reportedly torn and bleeding, records show.
Snider confirmed that she owned the livestock, and told officers the goats died after she dehorned them. She told Murphy that she would take the horse to a veterinarian in Charles Town.
About an hour later, Murphy met Snider at the property in Martinsburg where she said that she would take care of the injured chestnut mare because the veterinarian would not come out to the property, records show.
On Tuesday, Murphy and McMahan found the hematoma on the right side of the horse's stomach was in worse condition.
If found guilty of felony animal cruelty, Snider faces up to five years in prison and/or up to a $5,000 fine on each count. If found guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty, she faces up to six months in jail and/or up to a $2,000 fine on each count.
Case UpdatesFive felony counts of animal cruelty were dismissed Tuesday against a woman who is accused of inhumanely treating a number of goats, horses and cattle on property near Martinsburg.
Debra H. Snider of 75 Wolf Hollow Road in Hedgesville, W.Va., still faces prosecution on four misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, which also were filed against her last week, Berkeley County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Saunders said.
Saunders said after the hearing Tuesday that the felony counts still could be refiled, pending additional investigation.
Both the felony and misdemeanor charges were outlined in warrants issued June 25 by Berkeley County Magistrate JoAnn Overington.
The warrants link the felony counts to the dead goats found at the property by county officials at the end of Legado Drive west of Interstate 81, according to court records.
Berkeley County Sheriff W. Randy Smith said last week that officials also found two dead horses at the Legado Drive property. Another eight horses, along with 15 to 20 goats and two Texas Longhorn steers, were found alive.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Berkeley County Sheriff's Department Deputy J.H. Jenkins, Snider told police the goats died after she dehorned them.
Photographs taken of the living animals depicted open wounds and overall poor health and living conditions. Photographs of goat carcasses and troughs filled with murky and green water also were released by the sheriff last week. | Source: Herald-Mail July 1, 2008
Update posted on Jul 1, 2008 - 11:39PM |
References« WV State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Berkeley County, WV
|
