Horse found dead
Edneyville, NC (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Feb 7, 2009
County: Henderson

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Gilbert Steele

A Candler man with a history of animal neglect complaints is under investigation after one of his horses died Saturday.

The Henderson County Sheriff's Office received a call at 4:05 p.m. Saturday concerning an animal complaint at 2926 Old Creek Road. By the time a deputy and the county animal services director arrived, a horse was dead. Now people in the horse community and government officials are trying to determine what happened and whether criminal charges are warranted.

The 17-acre property is owned by Willam James Coston but Gilbert Steele leases part of the property to board horses. The exact number of animals is not known but horse advocates put the number at around 15.

Heather Coston has lived at a house on the land for about a year after her mother moved out. Shocked at the incident, she asked Steele to remove his horses by the end of the month.

She said a deal between her father and Steele to board the animals was worked out long before she took occupancy of the property.

"It is totally" the boarder's situation, Coston said. "It has nothing to do with me."

Animal Services Director Brad Rayfield said he got a call from the Sheriff's Office on Saturday and was asked to accompany a deputy to the complaint. Rayfield arrived at the scene and walked into the field where the horse was located.

"It was laying there on the ground," Rayfield said. "It was already dead."

When asked if he thought the animal suffered before dying Rayfield said, "I'm sure of it, because they were waiting for us to euthanize it."

The horse was confiscated and sent to a state veterinarian to determine cause of death, Rayfield said.

Henderson County Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Charlie McDonald said an investigation is ongoing into the incident.

"No charges have been filed at this time," he said. "We were asked on Saturday to respond to a call for animal cruelty."

A state veterinarian will examine all of the horses at the property on Old Clear Creek Road today and try to determine if neglect is taking place, Rayfield said. He was unsure when a decision would be made on charges.

"It's a waiting game," he said. "You have to collect things before you can charge."

Toby Linville, who served as Henderson County Animal Services interim director before Rayfield was hired, said Steele has a history of animal neglect associated with the horses on Old Clear Creek Road. In 2007, the county investigated Steele and found enough evidence to threaten a $30,000 civil lawsuit for animal neglect.

"That threat made him comply," Linville said. "He started feeding them better so we didn't file suit."

Linville said he was not aware of the new incident but said it fit with Steele's pattern of behavior.

"He is one of those habitual offenders," Linville said. "You grab him into compliance kicking and screaming and as soon as you take the heat off, they go right back to it."

References

• « NC State Animal Cruelty Map

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