16 horses seized
Christoval, TX (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Jun 14, 2011
County: Tom Green

Disposition: Not Charged

Person of Interest: Tina Purvis

A judge at a hearing to decide whether 16 horses should have been seized from a Christoval property earlier this month approved a motion by the defense to have access to state's witnesses.

The horses were seized June 14 because they appeared malnourished to Tom Green County Sheriff's Office personnel and a veterinarian.

Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Eddie Howard approved the defense motion Friday morning.

"If the horses were voluntarily given up, that might be a good way to handle this," Howard said.

According to the application for a warrant to seize animals, a deputy called in to say that some horses appeared to be in bad shape, and Johnny Walker, a deputy sheriff, made a welfare check and found the horses in poor condition.

"We did not locate any type of food or water, and observed there was little to no horse feces on the ground," Walker stated in the court document. "We observed the horses trying to eat the leaves and beans out of the mesquite trees, trying to get nourishment."

Walker stated that he gave pictures of the horses to veterinarian Gary Hodges, who said the horses did seem to be malnourished, and that the reason there weren't many feces was probably because the horses were eating them for lack of food.

The horses belong to Tina Purvis, according to records. She and her family and her attorney, Kelly Ellis, declined to comment.

The warrant approved for 13 horses to be seized, although 16 were taken because three of the horses were yearlings, sheriff's office spokeswoman Lt. Christina Lopez said.

The horses have been taken to an undisclosed location so that the public will not go feed them, Lopez said.

The sheriff's office is taking donations to help pay for food and care for the horses, Sgt. Ray Mellas, who investigates animal cruelty charges, said.

The animals likely would be auctioned off at $10 to $15 a head about two weeks after the sheriff's office has custody, Mellas said.

According to Tom Green County records, no animal cruelty charges have been filed against Purvis.

The next hearing for the case is tentatively set for July 12, Lopez said.

References

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