An Adams man is in jail, charged with a slew of misdemeanor animal abuse charges and a felony charge for allowing an animal to die from lack of care.
Jason Corbett was arrested on Jan 24 after a multi-agency raid at the home of a relative on County Route 84 in the town of Adams. He faces 22 misdemeanor cruelty counts, 10 shelter law violations, and one felony cruelty charge. He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $5,000 bail. Corbett additionally faces a probation violation charge.
A total of 13 animals were taken from two residences in the raid. The plight of the animals first came to the attention of authorities in September of 2005, when an anonymous tip led them to find the animals in poor health with only minimal care being provided. At the time, Corbett was allowed to keep the animals after promising he would work on improving their conditions and seek medical care for one dog that was suffering from tumors.
SPCA Director Linda Miles says the animals were found with open wounds, malnourished, and infected with parasites, and the one animal most in need of care in September had died due to lack of treatment. The animals are currently being housed at the SPCA and being given a special diet to help get them back to health. When asked if the dogs had been physically abused as well as neglected, Miles couldn�t rule out the possibility. �I can�t really say. They had a lot of wounds, some of them may have been from coon hunting, but some of them were not. They were either�.well, there were chunks and things in different places that were gone, and skin abrasions, and a number of things that we really haven�t sorted out what happened to them yet.�
Miles stressed that without the involvement of the anonymous tipster, these animals may have all eventually suffered the fate of the one that passed away, and urges people who see such abuse to call authorities. Case UpdatesJason Corbett tells News 10 Now he's not guilty of the charges but won't be able to come up with the money, over $12,000, to get his beloved dogs back. Corbett says he loves his dogs and would never hurt them.
In pictures the SPCA took when Corbett's dogs first came into their care, the dogs had cuts and open wounds. Corbett's grandfather tells News 10 Now the dogs were hunting dogs and the marks could have come from them being out in the woods.
"Somebody that says that it's their livelihood for their coon dogs you know to hunt them and everything else does not let their dogs get in the shape that he did," said Robert LaShure.
LaShure says he's one of the individuals that called and reported Corbett for animal cruelty. He said he didn't want Corbett to get into trouble but after his son told him the dogs weren't getting much food and water, LaShure says he knew the dogs needed help.
"Another time my other son went down there a month prior to that and there was a tumor the size of a football on one of the dogs," said LaShure.
He says he also offered to buy one of Corbett's dogs to help him out but Corbett refused to sell any of the thirteen dogs. Now Corbett will most likely lose all of his coon dogs because he says he can't come up with the money to get them out of the SPCA and county dog pound.
If and when these dogs are able to go up for adoption, director of the SPCA, Linda Miles says they'll take extra precautions adopting the dogs out.
"Well there may very well be home visits for these animals to make sure that they're going to go into proper housing and proper care and that people will no the proper way to care for them," said Linda Miles.
Miles says no matter what happens the SPCA will end up losing this case because caring for the dogs has already cost her facility over $8,000.
Corbett is scheduled to be back in court Friday morning to discuss the case. At that time Linda Miles is hoping to find out from the judge whether or not she can start adopting the dogs out.
Corbett also tells News 10 Now he's not happy with his lawyer and is trying to get new representation. | Source: News 10 - April 28, 2006
Update posted on Apr 28, 2006 - 3:47PM |
A Rodman man has five days to come up with thousands of dollars for the Jefferson County SPCA. Jason Corbett is accused of running a puppy mill, and on Thursday a judge ordered him to come up with more than $12,000 cash or a $25,000 bond to help pay for the animal's care.
Eleven dogs, all coon hounds, are being held at the county SPCA.
Back in January county officials followed an anonymous tip, which led them to Corbett's aunt's house in the Town of Adams.
That's where investigators found the dogs in what they call terrible conditions.
If Corbett does not pay the money, then the dogs will be put up for adoption. The SPCA's director says the animals should not be returned to Corbett while he awaits trial.
"It's unfortunate this happened. Why it happened, I don't know, but it did happen, and I don't think he should be rewarded for what he's done," said Linda Miles, the Jefferson County SPCA Director.
The judge says a trial could be weeks or even months away. | Source: News 10 Now - April 20, 2006
Update posted on Apr 21, 2006 - 3:01PM |
43 days ago, these pictures were taken of dogs that were seized in an animal cruelty case. Since then, six of the dogs have been staying at the Jefferson County SPCA, while the other seven are at the county dog pound. "They're actually doing beautifully now their in great health, their coats are shiny and their eyes are bright now and they're really healthy dogs now," said Linda Miles, SPCA director. The only problem now is the cost of boarding the dogs is starting to add up. The SPCA says it's already spent more than six thousand dollars in taking care of the animals.
We spoke with Jason Corbett's family, who tells us they do want the dogs back but declined to further comment because of pending litigation. Until the courts decide what they're going to do with these dogs, the dogs will just have to stay here at the SPCA and county dog pound. Thirteen dogs were seized and the dog's owner, Jason Corbett, was charged with 22 counts of animal cruelty. As News 10 Now's Amy Ohler reports, the dogs have recovered but are still being kept in shelters.
"At least cared for here. They're fed and we try to socialize them as much as possible but in the court's eyes, they're property, so they have to stay in evidence until the disposition on the courts," said Miles. The District Attorney's office tells us it's planning on making a motion to get Corbett to forfeit the animals. Then the dogs could be placed up for adoption, but that decision is ultimately up to county court. seized animals have stayed up to 14 months at the SPCA in animal cruelty cases. As for the cost of keeping the dogs at the shelters, the D.A.'s office says it will also plan on making a motion to have Corbett pay for the boarding fees. | Source: News10 - March 2006
Update posted on Mar 13, 2006 - 8:57PM |
Jason Corbett's family says they are sick of what they call lies and exaggerations. They say Corbett didn't mistreat his dogs, fed them more than the recommended amount each day, and he is not and was not running a puppy mill. "A puppy mill does just that. Breeds puppies, has puppies, sells puppies. There's no pregnant dogs. Out of all the dogs there's five females. None of them are pregnant," said David Maxwell, Corbett�s uncle. They say Corbett was never going to sell his dogs. They say the reason he had so many was not money, but love.
His grandfather, Howard Phillips said, "The reason he took them is that he didn't want to see them put down. Some of the dogs he's already got, that's the reason he's got them. Somebody was gonna put 'em down, get rid of it or whatever, and he didn't want to see it."
Family members of the town of Rodman man accused of running a puppy mill say the charges of animal cruelty are ridiculous. They say the SPCA is trying to make a quick buck at their expense. News 10 Now's Brian Dwyer sat down with his grandfather and uncle to get their side of the story. The family also has an issue with the pictures shown of the dogs following Corbett's arrest. They say he got the dogs in the pictures just days before his arrest, and he got them in that condition because he wanted to help them. When they hear the dogs were too skinny, they point to one of their trophies, and say that's how they're supposed to look. They say his numerous awards show he knows what he's doing and does it properly. "Best in show actually shows the dogs, and actually gives them something similar to this. The trophies over there is what shows what these types of things are for. Competing against other dogs in this field," Maxwell said.
During our interview, Corbett's grandfather said he believed his grandson was being railroaded and Linda Miles, the executive director of the SPCA, was exaggerating almost every issue to get people to feel bad and donate more money. "I think it's ludicrous. There's no way four government agencies all conspired to do something to his son so I can get some money. It's kinda a bad joke and the money we spend on these dogs will be far more than will ever be donated," Miles said.
Corbett tells News 10 Now he has a meeting scheduled with the public defender. He said if he gets the go ahead he'll more than gladly give his very own side of the story then. Maxwell says Corbett has to pay back $130 for each day the animals are cared for, even if he's found not guilty. | Source: News10 Now - February 11, 2006
Update posted on Feb 11, 2006 - 9:55PM |
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