The Benton County Sheriff�s Office arrested Trevor Allen McKinley after he dragged the animal behind his truck because he was "training the horse to lead." McKinley is out of jail on $10,000 bond. He was ordered to have no contact with the horse or any other animals in his possession.
The horse�s hooves and legs had several cuts and abrasions that were bleeding severely, leaving a quarter-mile trail of blood on the road. Dr. Richard McCarver with the Siloam Springs Veterinary Clinic, who is caring for the animal, said the horse has only a small chance of making a full recovery from the injuries.
In the original BCSO news release, Gay said McKinley was living on Peterson Road in Gentry. Apparently, the man recently had moved from that residence and is living somewhere else � away from the animals, Gay said on June 10.
At 11:44 a.m. June 8, Sheriff�s Office Cpl. Kristina Bertschy responded to an animal cruelty call concerning the horse. The animal appeared to be in distress after being dragged behind an older-model red Ford flatbed truck owned by McKinley. Bertschy arrived at the scene and found the parked truck with McKinley leaning over the horse, which was lying in a ditch. Bertschy reported that the horse was breathing heavily and was soaked with sweat.
The woman who reported the incident told a Central Communications dispatcher that the horse was running fast to keep up with the truck. When the caller returned from running errands, she saw the truck and the man on the side of the road. The horse was in the ditch, and the caller thought the animal was dead.
McKinley told Bertschy he was training the horse to lead. McKinley also told Bertschy the horse "tried to bite his kids." McKinley was charged with cruelty to animals, a class A misdemeanor, which is punishable with up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail. A judge can also order psychiatric or psychological counseling or treatment at the defendant�s expense. Case UpdatesThe worst animal cruelty case Benton County has seen in two decades ended Thursday in too light a sentence -- 15 days in jail, Prosecutor Robin Green said after a three-day trial.
Trevor McKinley, 34, of Gentry was cuffed and taken to the Benton County Jail to serve the time for his misdemeanor animal cruelty conviction, which a jury deliberated for six hours.
After jail, McKinley will begin paying a $4,500 bill to the veterinarian who has nursed a yearling colt back to health since June 8, when it collapsed on the side of a road after McKinley pulled it behind his truck.
Benton County Circuit Judge Tom Keith refused work release for McKinley, saying, "This jury has been generous with you. I've always said, for those who abuse the innocent there's a reservation in the hottest places in hell."
McKinley's three daughters testified and the judge said he suspected the jury's decision "had a lot to do with those three pretty little girls who testified here." The girls were ages 8, almost 9 and 11.
Green said she was bewildered by the short sentence, "given the defendant's previous felony record, his tendencies toward violence and his rage toward this 10-month-old colt and the permanent damage, pain and suffering he caused."
McKinley was arrested after a neighbor called 911 the morning of June 8 to report she saw McKinley speed by her house on a gravel road at perhaps 35 mph -- he was pulling the colt in a cloud of dust. She climbed in her car to catch McKinley, told him he was being cruel and warned she'd call police.
"This horse tried to bite my daughters," Lisa Foreman said McKinley shouted at her, his face red. She noticed the colt was sweating and breathing hard.
Foreman ran two errands in Gentry and returned 25 minutes later to find the colt collapsed in a ditch, with McKinley leaning over, trying to make it drink, she testified.
Deputy Prosecutor Drew Ledbetter said during trial police measured a trail of blood behind the colt stretching 1,460 feet -- 511 of those were on gravel.
"The colt was severely dehydrated -- even the dehydration was life-threatening ... it had scrapes and abrasions on its leg and back," Ledbetter said. "The hooves of each leg were worn completely off, with the raw coffin bone exposed on each hoof ... meat was hanging off."
McKinley testified he'd bought the colt 10 days before the incident for his middle daughter as a reward for good grades, although he knew nothing about horses and felt intimidated.
At least four times before, he successfully pulled the horse behind his truck trying to teach it to lead. McKinley cried through much of his testimony and said repeatedly, "I know now I never should have owned a horse."
His daughters testified their dad gave the horse beer to make it calm and pulled it behind the truck to "wear it out."
McKinley's attorney, George McManus, repeatedly admitted his client was ignorant but did not intentionally harm the animal. Prosecutors had to prove the man knowingly caused harm. Maximum jail time for the Class A misdemeanor is one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Jury foreman James Gately had few words for the media after the trial, but did say, "This jury dissected every detail."
McManus called the sentence "something my client can live with. The jury gave this time and came up with a fair decision."
He added, "I'm sure my client is through with horses. He will never have another horse."
When the horse can be released from care at the Siloam Springs Veterinary Clinic, possession will be given to the Humane Society, according to the judge's ruling. McKinley will also pay $1,150 in fines and costs, at the rate of $100 per month. | Source: NWA News - Oct 14, 2005
Update posted on Oct 14, 2005 - 5:34AM |
A trial continues Wednesday morning in Bentonville where a man is charged with animal cruelty for tying his horse up to the back of his flatbed truck and dragging it along the road.
The horse collapsed into a ditch, panting with its hooves worn to reveal bloody skin. Trevor McKinley's attorney told jurors Tuesday that McKinley had tied the colt up before and it had calmed the aggressive animal. McKinley said the horse had tried to bite his daughters. Testimony continues today. | Source: KHBS - Oct 12, 2005
Update posted on Oct 12, 2005 - 8:37PM |
An October jury trial has been scheduled for a man accused of dragging a horse behind a truck. Trevor Allen McKinley, 34, is charged with cruelty to animals, a class A misdemeanor, which is punishable with a sentence of up to a year in jail, a fine up to $1,000 or both.
McKinley appeared in court Monday for an arraignment before Circuit Judge Tom Keith. McKinley pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The judge scheduled a jury trial in the case for Oct. 11 and an omnibus hearing for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 15.
McKinley�s attorney said he still needs to see videos and photographs of the horse.
Cpl. Kristina Bertschy of the Benton County Sheriff�s Office arrested McKinley on June 9 after she discovered him leaning over the horse as it lay sweating and breathless in a ditch. Injuries to the horse�s hooves had left a half-mile blood trail on the road.
A witness reported to police that the horse was being dragged behind a flatbed truck owned by McKinley. The witness said the horse was running fast to keep up. Later, the witness passed the truck again and said McKinley was leaning over the horse, which was lying in a ditch.
McKinley told Bertschy he was training the horse to lead and that the horse "tried to bite his kids."
The horse is recovering at the Siloam Springs Veterinary Clinic. McKinley is free on $10,000 bond. | Source: NWA News - July 26, 2005
Update posted on Jul 26, 2005 - 8:41PM |
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