Convicted animal hoarder found with more animals - Suffolk, VA

Thursday, Jul 29, 2010

County: Suffolk City

Disposition: Not Charged

Persons of Interest:
» Jennifer Eileen Harrell
» Mattie Linda Vann - Alleged

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

A Suffolk woman with a history of animal abuse now has dozens of animals on her farm. Investigators say she is in violation of a sentencing for previous animal abuse.

In September, police charged Jennifer Harrell for leaving five malnourished horses tied up to trees without food. As punishment, she was told she could only have two animals on her property, a personal pet and one livestock, like a cow our chicken, but WAVY.com learned she may not be following a judge's orders.

Some of Jennifer Harrell's neighbors contacted WAVY.com saying it looks like she has more than 100 animals on her farm, a violation of her recent sentencing.

For more than two years, WAVY.com investigated Jennifer Harrell, a woman police say has a history of animal cruelty.

"She collects these animals and doesn't take care of them appropriately," says Suffolk spokeswoman Debbie George.

In December, Harrell faced four counts of animal cruelty, but made a deal in court to get rid off all the animals but two. On Wednesday, WAVY.com found the animal population on her property growing.

"I've noticed a lot of animals over there- all kinds of different animals dogs, goats god knows what else," says one neighbor named Mike.

Neighbors say bad smells come from Harrell's property and some animals regularly run into their yards. Other neighbors are upset with the animals' living conditions.

"They look like they weren't taken care of like they weren't fed properly, probably don't have water," says Mike.

Suffolk Animal control has been called to the home several times in the last couple months, but they can't take the animals away unless it comes by court order.

"I love animals and I don't want to see any harm done to them," says Mike.

WAVY.com knocked on Harrell's door to try and get answers, but she wasn't home. Investigators say she has until Monday, August 2, to place the animals in different homes. No word yet on if more charges could be filed.

Case Updates

A Suffolk woman had until Monday to find suitable homes for the dogs, rabbits and goats at her Deer Path Road home. Neighbors had complained about the animals two weeks ago, but on Monday, the dogs were still running in a pen and rabbits were still being kept in the backyard of Jennifer Harrell's home. Commonwealth Attorney Susan Walton says the animals are not on Harrell's property at the trailer. They are actually at her mother's home, just feet away, and that is far enough to keep her out of trouble. However, Harrell's mother Mattie Linda Vann was charged with one count of animal cruelty and one count of inadequate care after animal control officers reported there was not enough water for the rabbits. According to paperwork, a judge ruled Harrell could only own one agricultural animal and one domestic animal. The judge's decision came in December after Harrell was found guilty of nearly a dozen misdemeanors. Several of those charges were related to five malnourished horses found on Wilroy Road in September. One horse eventually died and the rest were nursed back to health. Kirsty Reyes cared for the starving horses and eventually adopted two of them. "My husband has already told me 'Don't do this again,'" she said. "That's the first thing he told me when I told him we're not taking any more animals." She is appalled Harrell continues to involve herself with animals and worried the family's track record in the end will only hurt the animals they seem to love. "The animals haven't done anything to anybody, and they're just suffering, and it's just sad. It's just really sad," said Reyes.

Source: wavy.com - Aug 2, 2010 Update posted on Jan 13, 2011 - 5:07PM

References

• fox43tv.com - Jul 29, 2010

« Back to Search Results
« VA State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Suffolk City County, VA

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.