Joseph Stuebing's trip to a local feed store in early October 2003 mattered little to state and local officials who visited his Dutch Mill Road farm that day -- looking for answers to explain why 23 horses in his care were slowly starving and dying.
"I saw about seven vehicles pulling in at one time, like a parade," Stuebing told his attorney during a pre-trial hearing in municipal court Wednesday. "I was just bombarded with people ... and panicked. It was overwhelming. They were just bombarding me with questions."
Stuebing claimed he did not know he had a right to refuse the officials entrance to his farm. Arguing a motion to suppress evidence against Stuebing, defense attorney Charles Iannuzzi said that the "entourage" of officials overwhelmed Stuebing that day, making him feel as if he had no choice in the matter but to allow them on the farm.
"(The state) fails to tell him he has a right to refuse," Iannuzzi said. "As a result, the fruits of that search should be suppressed."
Municipal prosecutor John Adams argued that Dr. Karen Froberg, a senior veterinarian for disease control with the State Department of Agriculture, has a right to enter any farm with or without the owner's permission for the safety of the public.
"Her obligation is to protect the public health," Adams said. "She doesn't need a search warrant."
Stuebing faces 52 separate counts for failure to provide proper food and failure to provide necessary sustenance to 23 horses on his farm. He has entered a plea of not guilty.
SPCA officials -- who assumed the responsibility of caring for the horses after Stuebing was charged -- have reported that the malnourished horses have made dramatic gains in weight since the situation was first reported and their overall health has improved.
Municipal Judge Charles J. Sprigman denied Iannuzzi's motion to suppress evidence from the officials' farm visit. In a mixed ruling Wednesday, Sprigman said that the state Department of Agriculture has the right to investigate a matter of potential animal disease or cruelty, but officials did need a search warrant to enter Stuebing's farm.
But Sprigman went on to add that Stuebing did welcome the officials onto his property, and, as a result, denied Iannuzzi's motion.
"Mr. Stuebing did, in fact, consent," Sprigman said. "He consented voluntarily."
After the proceedings, Iannuzzi said he will "probably not" appeal the judge's decision. He characterized Stuebing as "a caring person," adding that the impression that has been created about his client is wrong.
After the ruling, Sprigman ordered the return of horses on the Stuebing farm to their original owners, adding that "there seems to be animosity" between Stuebing and the SPCA officials now caring for the horses.
About 10 to 15 of the horses belong to other owners, attorneys said. It remained unclear whether any of those horses are among the 23 found malnourished.
A municipal court trial is scheduled for March 10 before Judge Sprigman Case Updates| Posted on Dec 24, 2004 - 3:52PM | A Superior Court judge threw out an animal cruelty conviction against a Gloucester County man, declaring unconstitutional the search of Joseph Stuebing's farm that led to allegations he neglected more than 20 horses.
In dismissing the municipal court case against Stuebing, Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson said the warrantless, Oct. 8, 2003 search of the farm was illegal and that all evidence obtained by authorities must be suppressed.
Allen-Jackson pointed out that two police officers on the scene during the search told Stuebing he would be arrested on a warrant for an unrelated bad check charge. But Stuebing was not informed of his right to refuse the search.
SPCA representatives, local police and other authorities, including a field veterinarian with the state Agriculture Department, inspected Stuebing's farm, looking for signs of infectious disease in 50 horses on the property.
Stuebing was found guilty in May of 34 criminal and civil counts of failing to care for the horses. He was fined $8,000 and ordered to pay more than $61,000 in restitution to the state's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was also ordered to turn the horses over to the SPCA.
The horses, Arabians and American saddlebreds, have remained on Stuebing's farm under SPCA supervision pending the appeal.
The SPCA plans to challenge Allen-Jackson's ruling.
"We may have lost in court, but if you took a look at what those animals looked like six to eight months ago, and what they look like now, at the end of the day, the animals are much better off than they were," said SPCA spokesman Matt Stanton.
A spokesman for the Gloucester County prosecutor said the office is weighing whether to appeal the decision, which was handed down Wednesday. | | Source: NYNewsday.com |
| Posted on Nov 18, 2004 - 11:05PM | A Superior Court judge in Gloucester County said today she would rule within three weeks on whether to overturn the conviction of a Franklin Township horse farmer found guilty of neglecting at least 20 saddlebreds.
Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson made her statement after hearing arguments surrounding the May conviction of Joseph Stuebing.
During the hour-long appeals hearing, Stuebing's attorney, Charles Iannuzzi, argued the state Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the local police department searched Stuebing's property illegally. | | Source: Philly.Com - Nov 17, 2004 |
| Posted on Oct 19, 2004 - 11:47PM | | Stuebing's appeal of his conviction is scheduled to be heard by Superior Court Judge Christine Allen-Jackson on Nov. 17. | | Source: Courier Post Online - Oct 19, 2004 |
| Posted on Jul 26, 2004 - 8:44AM | | Stuebing, 52, was found guilty in May of 20 criminal counts of failing to provide adequate food and shelter for the Arabian and American saddle horses. Franklin Municipal Court Judge Charles J. Sprigman Jr. also found Stuebing guilty of an additional 14 civil complaints. | | Source: The Daily Journal |
| Posted on Jul 5, 2004 - 10:05AM | Stuebing was found guilty in May of 34 counts of failing to adequately feed and shelter at least 20 horses. He was sentenced to a six-month suspended jail term and probation, and the horses were ordered removed.
The sentence and removal then were halted pending an appeal, but the horses' care had to be overseen by a veterinarian and the SPCA. |
| Posted on Apr 2, 2004 - 3:41AM | Apr. 02, 2004 - Most of the horses on a township farm appeared healthy and "in good flesh" as of late January, a Mickleton veterinarian testified yesterday in the animal-cruelty trial of Joseph Stuebing.
Ernest Beier was the first witness called by the defense for Stuebing, 52, who is accused of neglecting 23 horses to the point where some allegedly became dangerously underweight.
Stuebing was charged in October with 46 counts of failing to adequately feed and shelter the Arabians and American saddlebreds. The alleged violations were discovered on Oct. 8 when a group of state and county officials visited the Dutch Mill Road farm.
Six of the counts against Stuebing were dismissed last week after a review of evidence indicated that three of the animals were of adequate weight. Half of the remaining counts are criminal, and each of them carries up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine. The rest are civil and carry a maximum $250 fine each.
Stuebing has pleaded not guilty. He has declined to talk to reporters.
Beier visited the farm on Jan. 27 and 28. He testified yesterday that after examining the horses, he found it hard to believe they had been starving three months earlier.
"A horse starving in October shouldn't be in good body count in January," Beier said. "I think it would take a lot longer for them to come up to a good body score."
Beier said Stuebing told him that he had changed the horses' brand of feed because of financial problems, and that the animals had contracted diarrhea as a result of their new diet.
Beier said there were significant differences between estimates of the horses' weight and condition he had taken and those taken by the prosecution's veterinary experts. "There's something wrong somewhere," he said.
Under cross-examination by township prosecutor John Adams, Beier acknowledged that he knew the prosecution's experts and considered them to be reputable and "very competent."
Beier also admitted under questioning that his determinations were based in part on information provided by Stuebing and that "if Mr. Stuebing was not telling the truth, my results could be wrong."
The trial will resume next Thursday, April 8.
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