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Attorneys/Judges
Judge(s):
Steve Mura
For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Three people were arrested on Monday, Oct. 27, accused of animal cruelty after Whatcom County sheriff's deputies found 41 malnourished animals in poor condition at a home north of Ferndale.
Maria Ann Huffman, Richard James Huffman and Michael S. Wopat were arrested at a home on the 7000 block of Tall Cedars Lane and booked into Whatcom County Jail Monday evening - each on seven counts of second-degree animal cruelty, according to jail records.
The animals, which included cats, dogs, chickens, ducks and other birds, were turned over to the Whatcom Humane Society Oct. 9, said Sgt. Kevin McFadden, a detective for the Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office began investigating reports of animal cruelty at the home Oct. 8, after the Northwest Clean Air agency responded to a complaint of a foul smell coming from the residence.
Five of the animals were euthanized and three animals have since been adopted, said Penny Cistaro, executive director of Whatcom Humane Society. The rest of the animals are in foster care, at a wildlife refuge or still at the Humane Society, she said.
One of the dogs had a collar embedded in his neck that had been put on when he was young and not taken off when the dog outgrew it, Cistaro said.
Case Updates
A Ferndale mother and son who abused animals four years ago were found in criminal contempt of court Wednesday, Jan. 2, for owning fish, birds, cats and dogs.
Maria Ann Huffman, 45, and her son Richard James "RJ" Huffman, 27, were convicted of starving two pit bulls in 2008, after dozens of malnourished animals were recovered from their home in a high-profile animal abuse case. Four dogs on the Huffmans' property had slit throats, but prosecutors said they couldn't prove who tried to kill them. One puppy survived.
The Huffmans were each given 90-day jail sentences and banned from having pets for five years.
Last summer, animal control officers removed 43 animals - flea-infested kittens, "emaciated" cockatiels and two dead fish among them - from the Huffmans' home on Tall Cedars Lane, according to charges filed in September.
Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Steven Mura found the Huffmans in contempt Wednesday for simply owning the animals. They both were given a suspended jail sentence of one month. Maria Huffman must serve two days behind bars.
The new abuse charges are part of a separate ongoing court case.
The Whatcom Humane Society also found evidence suggesting Maria Huffman kept two horses at a farm on Olson Road. One horse, Freckles, had a wound "swollen to the size of two tennis balls" on his leg, according to the abuse charges. Freckles had been hit by a car three months earlier. A vet cleaned and bandaged the leg, but Maria Huffman allegedly didn't follow up with the prescribed treatment, so the wound festered.
One four-week-old kitten was found thin, anemic, covered in fleas, dehydrated and, without medical treatment, "would have died in less than a week," wrote Deputy Prosecutor Eric Richey. The kitten survived after getting a blood transfusion from its mother.
Several other kittens were suffering from similar problems. One died despite efforts to save it.
Two of the Huffmans' parrots were found in cages coated with an inch of dried feces. One cockatiel had a breast bone "stuck up like a dull blade of a hatchet," a sign of starvation, according to the charges.
The Huffmans have a court hearing scheduled for Feb. 20. Maria Huffman refused to talk with a reporter about the case.
Three Ferndale-area residents will spend 90 days in jail after they were sentenced for first-degree animal cruelty in Whatcom County Superior Court Thursday, Feb. 5.
Michael Wopat pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree animal cruelty in court Thursday. Richard and Maria Huffman pleaded guilty to the same charges Jan. 29.
Judge Steven Mura issued identical sentences of 90 days in jail, $1,600 in restitution and five years without owning animals to Wopat and the Huffmans.
"If any of the three of you come back on a violation of your release or another cruelty charge, you're going to get a year in jail or more prison time," Mura said.
Maria and Richard Huffman were released from jail after their pleas but appeared in court Thursday for their sentencing. Flanked by their attorneys, David Brown and Andrew Subin, the Huffmans stood silently in front of Mura as he read their sentences.
Still in custody, Wopat stood in the courtroom's jury box with his hands shackled and his waist chained to other inmates.
Neither the Huffmans nor Wopat had any prior felony convictions, so Senior Deputy Prosecutor Eric Richey said he was inclined to agree with their defense attorneys and recommend the 90-day jail sentence because the time would affect them more than repeat felons.
Whatcom County sheriff's deputies arrested the Huffmans and Wopat at their home on the 7000 block of Tall Cedars Lane in October.
Deputies found 41 abused animals, including dogs, cats, ducks, chickens and other birds, at first, according to charging documents filed in Superior Court.
They discovered more animals later, including four dogs with their throats slit. Only one puppy, later named Mira, survived.
All but three of the animals have been adopted from the Whatcom Humane Society, Executive Director Penny Cistaro said.
While Maria Huffman and Wopat each were charged with four additional counts of animal cruelty for the dogs' deaths, there wasn't a witness and proving one of them did it would be difficult, Richey said.
A woman and her son have pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in a case involving more than 50 animals in the Ferndale area of northwest Washington.
Whatcom County senior deputy prosecutor Eric Richey says he plans to recommend 90-day jail sentences for Maria A. Huffman and her son, Richard Huffman, who pleaded guilty on Thursday to first-degree animal cruelty.
The Huffmans also would be barred from owning animals for five years.
A third defendant in the case, Maria Huffman's husband, Michael Wopat, is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 9.
Fifty-seven malnourished dogs, cats, chickens, ducks and other birds were seized at the Huffmans' home or at a nearby rental property on Oct. 9.
The three were ordered not to possess any animals, but charging documents say four dogs were found living in a kennel on the property that Maria Hoffman and Wopat rented.
A neighbor told investigators that he saw Wopat on the property late at night Oct. 29. Two days later, the neighbor found the dogs with their throats slashed. Only one puppy survived.
Wopat and Maria Huffman were charged with additional counts of animal cruelty in the dogs' deaths, but Richey said those charges would be difficult to prove in court.
Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.
For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.
