Neglecting over 70 animals - dogs, cats, more
Tucson, AZ (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Aug 22, 2003
County: Pima

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» Patricia Rae Adkins-Tutty
» Janessa Jolene Adkins-Tutty
» Name Undisclosed

A mother and her two teen-age children were arrested yesterday for allegedly neglecting more than 70 animals in their care.

Each suspect is charged with 35 counts of animal cruelty, a felony, said Pima County Sheriff's Department Detective John Mawhinney.

Patricia Rae Adkins-Tutty, 47, and her 18-year-old daughter, Janessa Jolene Adkins-Tutty, both of the 1700 block of West Hunter Road, turned themselves in at the Sheriff's Department's foothills substation yesterday.

Mawhinney called Janessa Adkins-Tutty on her cell phone to advise her of the impending arrest.

Janessa and Patricia walked with their heads down as they were led handcuffed to a Sheriff's Department car at department headquarters, 1750 E. Benson Highway.

Deputies arrested Adkins-Tutty's son, 13, at his school, Accelerated Learning Center Lab, 5245 N. Camino de Oeste, the detective said. The boys name was not released.

"What they're being charged with is 35 counts of torturing animals. There may be additional charges added," Mawhinney said.

The mother told police she was a taxi driver, and the daughter said she was a food server, he said.

Pima County deputies discovered numerous sick and dying animals at a ranch in the 1700 block of West Hunter Road on Aug. 9 after neighbors alerted them.

The 18-year-old told investigators they had given some of the animals a bale of hay four days before, said Pima County Sheriff's Department Detective Mike Duffey. He is co-chair of the Animal Cruelty Task Force of Southern Arizona.

"She should have known better than that; she was a 4-H exhibitor at one time," Duffey said.

He believes they overfed the animals and then stopped feeding them, he said.

The animals seized included dogs, cats, chicken, cows and a corn snake named Husky, according to a list released by sheriff's detectives.

They are in the custody of the Humane Society.

Some of them suffered from valley fever and a tick-borne disease, Duffey said.

Others, including cows, goats, a donkey and a horse, remain at the ranch, he said as he flipped through a photo album of the animals. State officials are feeding the livestock, he said.

References

• « AZ State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Pima County, AZ

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