Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Tom Lee | | Defense(s): | Debra Vincent | | Judge(s): | Phillip Corley, Donald Worthington |
Hoarding - 86 animals seized
Perkins, OK (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 24, 2009
County: Payne
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Martuan L. Middleton
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
A former West Plains resident busted in 2001 for keeping hundreds of dogs and cats in squalid conditions near her home now faces similar accusations.
Authorities in Payne County, Okla., say they found 86 malnourished, filthy dogs in the care of Martuan L. Middleton last week.
The woman, who lives in the small town of Vinco, Okla., has been charged with a felony count of cruelty to animals.
Court documents indicate the animals -- 84 dogs and two cats -- were malnourished, crawling with parasites and caked with feces. Six of the dogs had to be euthanized.
Those allegations are nearly identical to what Howell County authorities found when they served a search warrant on Middleton’s West Plains home eight years ago.
In July 2001, deputies and Missouri Department of Agriculture officials seized more than 200 dogs and cats from the woman’s unlicensed breeding facility.
Some of the animals were missing limbs. Authorities found a dead horse and nine dead dogs at the scene.
“Obviously I love the animals or I wouldn’t have them,” Middleton told a reporter at the time. She added she planned to move away from Missouri, and that she’d stop breeding animals.
In 2002, Middleton -- whose first name was spelled Martaun in the Missouri case -- wound up pleading guilty to 15 misdemeanor counts of animal abuse in that matter, and successfully served two years of unsupervised probation, court documents show.
If convicted of the pending felony count, she could face up to five years in prison.
Case UpdatesA Vinco woman who was charged with animal cruelty after 84 dogs and two cats were found on her property southwest of Perkins in what authorities called horrible conditions pleaded no contest Friday in the felony case.
Payne County First Assistant District Attorney Tom Lee told District Judge Donald Worthington in court Friday that he will seek a prison sentence for Martuan Louise Middleton, 59, who was found mentally competent to stand trial.
Middleton’s courtappointed defense attorney Debra Vincent noted that Middleton has been in the Payne County Jail since her arrest Sept. 21, 2009, and unable to post $10,000 bond. She asked that Middleton’s bail be changed to a personal recognizance bond, which the judge refused to do Friday.
Middleton does not have an agreement with the prosecution regarding her penalty for animal cruelty, which carries a maximum sentence of a five-year prison term and $5,000 fine.
The judge scheduled a June 4 sentencing hearing for Middleton.
Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Myers told the Journal that he arrived at the property at 14212 S. Stanton in Vinco on Sept. 17, 2009, about 20 minutes after a neighbor called the Sheriff’s Office.
“He could see a deceased dog in the yard. He wanted us to check on the other dogs as well,” commented Myers, who said that he found another dead dog in the yard.
Most of the dogs on the property were full-blood cocker spaniels, dachsunds or chihuahuas, he said. The animals were very malnourished, the deputy said.
Middleton, who was not on the property, was arrested a week later, court records show.
“The dogs had skin lesions from fecal material and urine, mange and fleas. The cocker spaniels had hair mats so full of feces that they had difficulty walking,” Myers said.
“When we got to the OSU Vet Med Clinic, they had 11 veterinarians on standby and 20 students and technicians to start assessing the dogs.
“Most of the dogs had poor body condition, averaging 0 to 3 on a scale from 0 to 9 -- with 9 being normal,” Myers said.
Six dogs had to be euthanized -- five due to suffering and one due to aggression, he said. All of the surviving animals were adopted, the sheriff said.
The Journal learned that Middleton was previously convicted of 14 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty in Howell County, Mo., where she was given a one-year suspended sentence with two years’ unsupervised probation in 2002, records show.
Over 200 dogs and a few cats were seized from Middleton when she lived in West Plains, Mo., Christine Portman, Animal Cruelty Task Force Coordinator for the Humane Society of Missouri, told the Journal.
Middleton is a widow who had worked for Wal Mart on Highway 51 in Stillwater for five months when she was arrested, according to her application for a court-appointed attorney in her current case.
She was found competent to stand trial on the Payne County animal cruelty charge following an examination in January when she “displayed a negative attitude during the session,” court records show.
Middleton contested the findings and requested further evaluation at the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, where she was again examined for her competency to stand trial, court records show.
She was “angry and cantankerous,” during the March 11 evaluation, according to a report to the court by Samina R. Christopher, Director of Forensic Psychology at the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita.
However, she met the mental competency criteria of being able to understand the nature of the charges made against her and being able to assist her lawyer in the preparation of her defense, the report said.
“Ms. Middleton reports previous experience with the criminal justice system in multiple states for similar behaviors as her current alleged offense,” the report said.
She denied any psychiatric or psychological treatment history, but said that she had lost consciousness “a couple of times” after being “thrown off a horse and being beat,” the report said.
“She also denies any past suicide attempts though she states, ‘I’d love to die. But kill myself? No, that is against God’s will. I’d like a place away from anybody. I’d like to go out there and find a place to sit and wait to die,’” the report said. | Source: The Journal - April 22, 2010
Update posted on Apr 26, 2010 - 12:29AM |
A woman charged with animal cruelty will appear in the Payne County District Court at 9 a.m. Monday.
Martuan L. Middleton, 58, faces one felony charge of cruelty to animals and will have a preliminary hearing before Judge Phillip Corley on Monday morning.
On Sept. 17, 84 dogs and two cats were found at 14212 S. Stanton St. in Vinco, according to court documents.
The animals were malnourished and suffering from various medical problems due to neglect. Two dogs were dead upon arrival to the Oklahoma State University Animal Hospital, and six had to be euthanized to relieve animal suffering, according to the documents.
Animal Welfare officers assisted in seizing the animals, Animal Welfare Division Shelter Director Mary Dickey said.
She said that Animal Welfare was asked by Payne County Sheriff’s Department if some of the dogs could be fostered, but initially none could be taken due to space at the shelter. Animal Welfare has only 13 holding kennels, leaving only nine kennels to hold strays. After a bond hearing, the dogs were released by the court to Animal Welfare.
While majority of the 76 remaining confiscated dogs are either adopted or in foster homes, 18 were adopted out by Payne County Undersheriff Gary McKinnis and four must remain at the Animal Welfare Division until the case is over.
OSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital Director Mark Neer said both of the cats have been adopted, but there are still dogs from the case available for adoption at the Stillwater Humane Society, SHS Director Jackie Ross-Guerrero said.
The animals were mostly adopted by personel from the OSU vet school, Payne County Sheriff Department and word of mouth, Neer said.
He said that about 80 percent of those who have provided foster homes to the animals kept them as pets. The rest of the foster homes return a few dogs at a time each week to Animal Welfare and SHS in order not to overwhelm both shelters, Dickey said.
SHS originally received 11 cocker spaniels and two dachshunds, Jackie-Guerrero said. She said that five cocker spaniels and one dachshund have been adopted and SHS expects to receive three more dogs from foster care soon.
The Humane Society of Stillwater is currently taking applications for the rescued dogs. To view the adoptable rescued dogs, visit www.petfinder.com. | Source: Stillwater News-Press - Nov 7, 2009
Update posted on Nov 9, 2009 - 2:11AM |
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