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CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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When you vote, you are voting on whether or not the punishment fit the crime, NOT on the severity of the case itself. If you feel the sentence was very weak, you would vote 1 star. If you feel the sentence was very strong, you would vote 5 stars.
Please vote honestly and realistically. These ratings will be used a a tool for many future programs, including a "Peoples Choice" of best and worst sentencing, DA and judge "report cards", and more. Try to resist the temptation to vote 1 star on every case, even if you feel that 100 years in prison isnt enough.
Case #14219 Rating: 3.6 out of 5
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2003
County: Malheur
Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Robert Harold Erickson
» Barbara Erickson
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
The authorities in Malheur County knew Barbara Erickson was investigated in 1996 in Idaho for hoarding dogs. They had been watching Barbara and her husband, Robert Erickson, since they moved into eastern Oregon in 1997. It took approximately six years before the officers raided the rundown house on the outskirts of Harper on Jan 23. During the raid they confiscated more than 500 dogs from the property.
Barbara and Robert Erickson face 551 misdemeanor charges of animal neglect and one charge of felony criminal mischief.
The dogs were suffering from malnutrition, various illnesses and neglect and about 20% percent of the dogs died. This case got national and global attention with people asking why it took so long for the authorities to to press charges against the couple.
Some of the reasons provided by the authorities are: remoteness of the property, lack of legal limit on number of dogs people can own in Malheur County and lack of evidence that would insure the authorities would intervene.
The authorities could see about 200 dogs living in pens made from plywood and eating food poured onto the ground from U.S. 20. But, the officials weren't able to get a probable cause search warrant until Jan 23 - the day they rescued the dogs.
The regional director for the northern Rockies division of the Humane Society of the United States, Dave Pauli, said long investigations are not unusual. Many states lack laws that limit the number of dogs a person can own, neglect can take years to investigate. Pauli said, "That's a very common challenge, because people can live any way they want as long as s it doesn't impact the health and safety of their neighbors or their animals. It's a fine balance between personal property rights and animal cruelty rights. And it's a fine game to get enough probably cause."
In 1997, the couple lived in a camp trailer on the Owyhee River near Vale on private property. The property owner called the Sheriff's office to complain. When authorities followed up on the complaint, they found nearly 40 dogs. The dogs had food, water and shelter. The couple explained they had been run out of Idaho because of a dispute regarding their dogs.
September 1996, Barbara Erickson was charged with one count of permitting animals to go without care after deputies found about 300 dogs living in squalid conditions at the couple's Midvale home.
Eventually the charge was dropped after Barbara Erickson agreed not to breed any animals in Idaho and she allowed the Idaho Humane Society to take 293 dogs off her property. She also agreed to neuter or spay any dogs she had that were pets, have a veterinarian make visits to ensure health of the dogs. The Ericksons moved out of Midvale soon after the charge was dismissed.
When the Ericksons rented an old farmhouse in Harper, the authorities noticed an ever-growing number of dogs on the property. The couple would not allow authorities inside the home without a search warrant.
A neighbor who lived about a mile away complained about the smell of the property. There were several 40-pound dog food bags on the property filled with dog feces. A $500 fine was suspended when the couple disposed of the feces. Where the couple disposed of the bags of feces was unknown.
Since Malheur County has no law restricting the number of animals a person can own, investigators couldn't charge the Ericksons with having too many dogs unless they animals appeared to be mistreated.
In January neighbors said they were concerned the dogs seemed to be living outside without shelter even in the rain and cold temperatures. After a period of heavy rains, the investigators could see the animals living outside covered in mud, feces and showing definite lack of care. Under sheriff, Brian Wolfe, said "We saw that some of the pens didn't have adequate shelter. The dogs were lying in muddy conditions. I didn't see any dishes, feeders or food."
That was on Jan 23 and by the end of that day, a Malheur County judge had signed a search warrant, authorities went to the house. Many people were concerned about the condition of the dogs on the Ericksons' property but didn't realize how bad the situation was.
The authorities thought they would find about 200 dogs when they entered the property on Jan 23, and that's what they found living outside in the yard and in the kennels. They found about 300 more dogs inside the five room house.
Wolfe said, "There was dog feces in every room. There was no place you could step in that home without stepping in it, including the kitchen. In some places it was inches deep. In my opinion, that house is beyond repair."
The felony charge against the Ericksons is from conditions of the home, which is owned by a Harper woman.
Case Updates
Barbara Erickson, 76, and Robert Erickson, 64, were sentenced Tues., June 3, at the Malheur County Courthouse in Vale, OR. Judge Patricia Sullivan ordered each of them to complete 60 months of supervised probation, live within the city limits of Nyssa, Vale or Ontario and pay the owner of their rented Harper, OR, home $15,000.
Barbara Erickson pleaded guilty to 134 counts of first degree animal neglect, 418 counts of animal neglect in the second degree and one count of criminal mischief.
Robert Erickson pleaded guilty to one count of criminal mischief and one count of felony animal neglect.
They can own two dogs but the animals must be spayed or neutered, and embedded with an identification chip.
Barbara Erickson must undergo therapy, she was sentenced to 15 days in jail because she received credit for time already served.
Approximately 100 of the dogs died or were euthanized, the remainder were adopted.
The 2nd Chance Animal Shelter president, Barb Hutchinson, attended the sentencing and she thought the sentence was fair. Hutchinson said, "I do not feel these are evil people. I feel they started something out of the goodness of their hearts, and then it got outrageously out of control."
Authorities thought both Ericksons have symptoms of a condition experts call animal hoarding that causes people to compulsively collect large numbers of animals. |
Source: The Idaho Statesman, Boise - Jun 4, 2003
Update posted on Jul 28, 2008 - 4:22PM |
References