CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #4467 Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Animal neglect
Elkins, WV (US)Incident Date: Monday, Apr 25, 2005
County: Randolph
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Deborah K Jones
» John Brett Payne
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
Animals living in deplorable conditions, with no food, and very little water surrounded by their own waste.
The Randolph County animal control officer seized the animals on the evening of April 25, 2005. Those officials say the animals were thin and undernourished and the animal control officer turned them over to the Randolph County Humane Society.
On Tuesday (April 26), the animals brought to the Humane Society all appear to be doing well, and are receiving treatment.
The good news is that right now none of the animals will need to be put to sleep. However all the animals are seriously under nourished.
The Randolph County Sheriff Department arrested Deborah K. Jones and John Brett Payne on animal cruelty charges. Payne posted bond. Jones is still housed in the Randolph County jail. Both suspects are being charged with 37 counts of animal cruelty.
Also, the Humane Society says it received even more animals from another property belonging to Jones in Barbour County. Authorities say they believe that was an attempt to hide these animals from investigators. Right now the biggest issue facing the workers at the Humane Society is space. The amount of animals they received means they are running low on space. They are asking for help.
The animals recovered on Monday can not be adopted yet due to legal issues. There are other animals that need to be adopted or need a foster home. If you want to help you can call the Randolph County Humane society at 304-636-7844.
Case UpdatesJohn Payne and Deborah Jones made an agreement with prosecutors. They'll get seven of their dogs back. Those dogs were considered house pets. The other animals will be adopted out to other homes.
Payne and Jones will have to pay restitution to the humane society and may not have any more animals for the next ten years. They've also agreed to allow humane officers access to their property at all times to make sure there is no more abuse. If they violate any of these conditions, they will be subject to prosecution.
At the human society, workers there say they are very displeased with this outcome. They are very concerned that the seven dogs that will be returning to Jones and Payne will suffer the same treatment as last time.
Here are some of the dogs that were taken from the property back in April. Right now they are all in good health and some are ready to be adopted. The human society still has a waiting list of possible adoptive parents for these animals. Even though a majority of the pets will go to a good home, that still doesn't lessen the sting.
"There are laws in West Virginia that were not used," says Kelly Scheidegger from the Randolph County Humane Society. "The humane society asked that a bonding law be placed against the animals so that they would have to pay to have them, and that cost would have been so exorbitantly high, they probably would have given them to us."
The humane society will begin looking for good homes for the rest of the animals. If you would like to put your name on the waiting list you can call the Randolph County Humane Society at 304-636-7844. | Source: WTRF - July 29, 2005
Update posted on Jul 29, 2005 - 7:24PM |
| The remaining four charges allege mistreatment of the horses. Payne's trial is scheduled for July 29 while Jones' trial is scheduled for Sept. 28. | Source: wvgazette.com - June 15, 2005
Update posted on Jun 16, 2005 - 1:37AM |
The images, horrendous. Dogs and cats living in deplorable conditions, some with other dead animals.
Now, a Randolph County magistrate has dropped most of the charges against the owners.
Randolph County Magistrate Mike Riggleman dropped 33 of the 37 charges on the grounds that the state did not present enough evidence.
Sheriff's deputies arrested John Bret Payne and Deborah Jones when animal control officers seized 22 dogs, four horses, nine chickens, four cats and some ducks from their property. Randolph County Magistrate Mike Riggleman told 12 News that most of the charges were dropped because of a lack of detail in the charge, and that more evidence would be needed to go along with the allegations against Payne and Jones.
All the animals from the case are still at the Randolph County Humane Society. And the Humane Society is still over crowded. In fact just last month alone the Humane Society had 204 animals come in in addition to the ones already housed there. Four charges are still pending against the couple, those 4 charges are in regards to the horses that were found on the couples property, that trial will be later this summer. | Source: wtrf.com - June 15, 2005
Update posted on Jun 15, 2005 - 7:24PM |
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