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Case #15599 Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Hoarding - a dozen cats and dogs seized
Dayton, OH (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009
County: Montgomery
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Jerry Keith Welch
» Charmion Renee Borton
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
A local couple was arrested in Dayton Wednesday night after police found several animals in uninhabitable conditions in their home.
Police were dispatched to the South Terry Street home of Jerry Welch, 64, and Charmion Burton, 35, after getting a call to check on the welfare of their 2-month-year-old son.
When police arrived to one of the homes the couple shares, they said they found the home in deplorable conditions with filthy rooms and dying dogs and cats.
Police and some officials from Montgomery County's Animal Resource Center said they removed a dozen cats and dogs barely clinging to life and one that died in the house.
Neighbor Linda Schacherer said the home smelled "horrid" and saw police carry out the animals.
Mark Kumpf, Montgomery County Animal Resource Center director, said what Welch and Burton did was hoard animals in horrible living conditions.
"There were a lot of trash and debris in their house and when they were taken into custody this evening the mini van they were driving with their child was filled to the top with trash," Kumpf said.
Both Welch and Burton were charged in 2005 with felony animal cruelty after Dayton police found a dog in their care partially frozen to ground on Geyer Avenue.
The couple was charged with roughly two weeks behind bars and ordered to not have any pets of any kind for a period of four years.
Welch and Burton were arrested and are housed at Montgomery County Jail and together are facing nearly 30 felony counts of animal abuse and possibly child endangering.
The child is now with Child Services.
Case UpdatesThere are new developments in the case of a couple arrested after a dead animal is found in their home, and more than a dozen others found living in horrible conditions, authorities said.
News Center 7 has learned that the couple is out of jail and all charges have been dropped because of an issue over law codes used to file charges.
Police said more than a dozen dogs and cats from Terry Street in Dayton and all of them were neglected.
Dr. Kelly Meyer said, "Most of them do not interact well with people."
Authorities said on Wednesday they arrested the animal's owners Jerry Welch and Charmion Borton. Prosecutors charged them with felony animal cruelty, but later withdrew the allegations.
Mark Kumpf, Montgomery County Animal Resource Center Director, said, "As we were in the process of filing those warrants we found a possible problem with the actual statute code itself.
Authorities said since it is a problem that can't be addressed until next week; Welch and Borton are no longer behind bars. | Source: WHIO-YV - July 3, 2009
Update posted on Jul 5, 2009 - 6:29PM |
References« OH State Animal Cruelty Map
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