Horse dragged behind truck, left in ditch to drown - Opelousas, LA

Wednesday, Mar 19, 2014

County: Saint Landry

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Roy Rubin

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Early Wednesday morning, the St. Landry Parish Animal control received a call from a man, claiming his horse was dead and needed to be removed. Patricia Street, Supervisor of Animal Control said the caller was advised to call someone to bury the animal, as this is not a service they provide.

A few hours later, a called was received from a parish employee.

"The horse was blinking her eyes," said a parish employee who witnessed a horse being dragged behind a truck on Canal Street in Opelousas.

"The parish employee stopped the owner of the horse and talked to him. He said he was taking the horse to another pasture. The employee said the horse was still alive; she was blinking her eyes."

Officials believe the man who called about the dead horse was the same man who was driving the truck, based on an anonymous tip they received. The animal, investigators said, was hooked to the back of the vehicle by her halter. When officials arrived on the scene they found drag marks, blood and a female horse in a ditch full of water. Investigators believe the animal was dragged 1/4 of a mile, before the person driving the vehicle stopped, got out, un-hooked the animal and rolled the animal into the ditch, where it drowned.

Pointing to spots on the road and in the ditch, Street explained, "You can see blood here and you can see the ground (in the ditch) were the dirt fell on her head. It looks like she was thrashing her head against the bank."

Street and Head of the St. Landry Parish Livestock, Troy Gallo, both said they spoke with the owner, who stopped by the active scene. They report the owner claimed ownership but denied being involved in the brutal act.

"This one he did claim ownership of but he didn't admit to the dragging. He said it was his horse, and he said 'I paid a guy to dispose of it' and he said he saw him drag it off, and I said 'why didn't you stop him?'" Gallo said.

Gallo added the man said he gave someone $20 dollars to "haul off the horse".

In addition to the body, Gallo found three other horses, apparently belonging to the same man. The three live horses were suffering from malnourishment and neglect, and were taken into custody. The dead horse was removed and is being buried.

The parish employee who witnessed the act, gave a statement to the sheriff's office as well as a description of the owner. Officials have not released the suspect's name, but did say a warrant is pending for his arrest.

Case Updates

Authorities have booked a Washington-area man with animal cruelty after he allegedly killed a horse by dragging it and throwing it into a ditch. The Daily World reports Roy Rubin was arrested Thursday. Jessie Bellard, with St. Landry Parish Government, Rubin owns three other horses and they are being confiscated. Bellard said the man's other horses were all severely malnourished. If people have a horse they can no longer care for, Bellard said they can call the parish animal shelter at 337-948-6184. It was unclear whether Rubin has an attorney.

Source: KLFY - March 20, 2014 Update posted on Mar 21, 2014 - 7:08PM

References

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