Case Snapshot
Case ID: 15823
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull), horse, cow
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Attorneys/Judges
Prosecutor(s): Monique Donner
Judge(s): R. Bruce Long


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Friday, Mar 20, 2009

County: Gloucester

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 2 files available

Defendant/Suspect: Robert A. Warden

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

A horse that was among 39 animals that were allegedly cruelly neglected will have to be euthanized, a state veterinarian testified Tuesday at the trial of an Ordinary man.

Prior to the start of his trial, Robert A. Warden, 57, pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges stemming from accusations that he failed to provide adequate food and shelter to the horses, cows, dogs, chickens, pigeons and doves. The animals were seized in March and April following several trips to Warden's home and property by Gloucester County Animal Control officers and a state veterinarian.

In addition to the charges, Warden faces a bill estimated to be at least $42,000 to care for the animals after they were seized. Gloucester County has been paying the bills but is seeking reimbursement.

Warden is accused of keeping many of the animals on Route 17 in Ordinary in pens befouled with feces and dirty water. The pastures lacked grass and were littered with debris and many of the animals were malnourished.

One horse had a serious leg injury involving a wire wrapped within the horse's swollen lower left leg. The horse required surgery that cost thousands of dollars and now will likely be euthanized.

Dana Miller, a state veterinarian, testified that a March 20 visit to Warden's property showed pastures had insufficient grass and that the hay on the property would not feed eight horses, one steer and two cows for a day.

Steve Baranek, a Gloucester County Animal Control officer, testified that when he talked to Warden about the injured horse on March 20 and told him it required veterinarian care, Warden had another idea.

"He said, 'Well, I'll just shoot the horse,'" Baranek said.

But that horse was seized days later and treated for the leg injury. Miller testified that surgery revealed a wire was wrapped around a bone, causing the injury that had lingered for eight years.

Miller said Warden tried a home remedy on the horse's leg that involved treating the wound with maggots he fished out of manure. Miller said that in some medical instances, maggots are used to treat wounds where surgery and other means are unable to remove dead flesh.

The medical use of maggots is in a controlled environment with a specific kind of maggot and is not anywhere close to Warden's method, she said. The trial is being heard by Circuit Judge R. Bruce Long and resumes today.


Case Updates

Citing the "deplorable conditions" for 39 animals at the farm of Robert A. Warden, a judge convicted the Ordinary man Thursday in Gloucester County Circuit Court of two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

Warden was sentenced to two years in jail, but the time was suspended.

Warden, 57, declined to comment after his sentencing. The sentence concluded the third day of Warden's trial on accusations that he cruelly neglected 39 horses, cows, dogs, chickens, doves and pigeons by depriving them of adequate food, water and shelter.

One of the horses seized in March by Gloucester County Animal Control officers is suffering from a 9-year-old leg injury and is expected to be euthanized.

Circuit Judge R. Bruce Long also barred a girlfriend of Warden's from keeping her two horses at his property. Long said that after hearing testimony and viewing video footage and photos of the farm, he feels Warden is "not a proper person or in a proper condition to own animals."

Long's ruling prohibits Warden from owning any companion animals such as dogs or any livestock at his farm on Route 17 in Ordinary. He allowed Warden to keep a dog he kept in his house and will allow Warden to replace the dog when it dies.

A hearing will be held Oct. 16 to determine how much money Gloucester County is due from Warden to care and attend to the medical needs of the 39 animals seized in March and April. The county estimates those costs could exceed $42,000.

Steve Baranek, a Gloucester County Animal Control officer, said the county is still paying for the care of eight horses and four dogs.

In rendering the verdict, Long cited a videotape and photos that showed dogs and fowl penned in structures covered in excrement. Pastures at Warden's farm lacked grass and were littered with boards, inoperable vehicles and other debris.

In closing arguments, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Monique Donner said cows were so hungry they were chewing on boards in piles of debris. Some of the dogs were penned in a horse trailer covered in piles of excrement and puddles of urine.

"What a miserable existence," Donner said.

After sentencing Warden, who faced a year in jail and a $2,500 fine on each count, Long looked directly at Warden.

"I know you disagree with my decision, Mr. Warden," Long said. "I understand that."

Long then asked Warden if he wanted to add anything.

Warden, in a navy suit with his gray hair pulled back in a ponytail, conferred briefly with his two lawyers flanking him and then quietly replied, "No, sir."
Source: Daily Press - Sept 24, 2009
Update posted on Sep 28, 2009 - 12:20AM 
Seven of eight horses seized from an Ordinary resident facing animal cruelty charges ranged from very underweight to thin, with just one of the animals falling in the acceptable range of weight, a veterinarian testified Wednesday morning.

Virginia DeChant testified in Gloucester County Circuit Court that many of the animals seized in March and April from the farm of Robert A. Warden had lice infestations. DeChant examined the horses a few days after they were seized from Warden.

"They were all fairly thin, and the active lice infestation in horses shows their immune system is not quite normal," DeChant said.

Angela Stanaway, another veterinarian, testified Wednesday that in May 2008, she treated an injury to a rear leg of a horse called Dancer. She said it appeared to be a chronic wound and talked to Warden about treating it by soaking it with Epsom salts and iodine to remove dead tissue.

"We discussed general nursing care of the wound, and I provided antibiotics for the horse," Stanaway said.

When Stanaway returned later that month, the wound was improving, she said, and she and Warden agreed to continue with the antibiotics.

But after Dancer was seized by animal control officers earlier this year, surgery revealed a wire wrapped around the bone in the horse's leg.

On Tuesday, a state veterinarian said the horse will likely have to be euthanized as a result of the wound.

Warden is facing two misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty after officers seized 39 horses, cows, dogs, chickens and pigeons from his home on Route 17 in Ordinary.

Wayne Webb, a Gloucester farmer and farrier, said on Wednesday that he sold Warden hay and that Warden provided adequate shelter and water for the animals. He said he paid $1,500 for two cows and a steer that Gloucester County seized but later allowed Warden to sell to Webb.

In addition to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, Warden faces an estimated bill of $42,000 that Gloucester County will spend in boarding and caring for the seized animals.

The trial before Circuit Judge R. Bruce Long is expected to finish today.
Source: Daily Press - Sept 23, 2009
Update posted on Sep 28, 2009 - 12:19AM 

References

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