Horses allowed to roam at large - Fincastle, VA

Tuesday, Jan 24, 2006

County: Botetourt

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Jack Cassell

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

A Botetourt County horse owner who faced 33 animal cruelty charges in Jan 2006 will be back in court next week on charges that he allowed his horses to wander off his farm.

Jack Cassell, 79, has been charged with eight counts of allowing animals to stray or trespass, said Sgt. D.W. Horton, an animal control officer with the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office. Each misdemeanor charge carries a maximum fine of $250, he said.

The charges stem from two incidents. On Jan. 24, driving by Cassell's farm, Horton noticed two horses in a neighbor's yard, he said.

About 4:30 a.m. on Feb 1, a tractor-trailer driver on U.S. 220 called 911 to report six horses loose on the highway, Horton said. All six of the horses, which belonged to Cassell, have been seized and are being kept at various locations in Botetourt County, Horton said.

On Jan. 20, Cassell appeared in Botetourt County General District Court to be tried on 33 counts of cruelty to animals. The charges were based on allegations that Cassell was allowing his large herd of horses to starve.

After Judge James Farmer pushed for a settlement in the case, Cassell pleaded guilty to two counts of depriving an animal of food and water and agreed to reduce his herd of 28 horses down to six by September.

One of the conditions of Cassell's plea agreement was that he must repair his fences and keep his horses from wandering. A conviction on the new charges could affect his plea agreement, said Assistant Botetourt County Commonwealth's Attorney Jill Deacon.

Cassell's son, Jerome Cassell, pointed out that the new charges have nothing to do with animal cruelty. The farm has bad fences, and it's hard to keep horses from jumping, he said. "They'll jump a good fence," he said.

Case Updates

A Fincastle man pleaded no contest Friday to three more charges of allowing livestock to stray as part of an ongoing dispute with Botetourt County over the care of his horses. Jack Cassell, 79, was fined $200 for each conviction, but all the fines were suspended on the condition that Cassell have electric fencing up by March 24, said Assistant Botetourt County Commonwealth's Attorney Jill Deegan. Botetourt County animal control officers seized three of Cassell's horses shortly after midnight Wednesday following a phone call from a driver who had seen the horses on U.S. 220. Those three horses have been forfeited to the county and will be under the care of Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue, Deegan said. Friday's court appearance was just the latest in a string for Cassell. On Jan. 20, he faced trial on 33 animal cruelty charges for allegedly allowing the horses in his herd to starve. He pleaded guilty to two counts of depriving an animal of food and water. On Feb. 1, six of his horses were seized for blocking U.S. 220. He was convicted of five misdemeanor counts of allowing an animal to stray or trespass and fined $250. Under a previous plea agreement, Cassell is required to reduce his herd to six horses by September. Friday's hearing did not affect that plea agreement, Deegan said.

Source: Roanoke Times - Feb 25, 2006 Update posted on Feb 25, 2006 - 9:50AM

A judge levied a $250 fine against a Fincastle horse owner Wednesday, ending another episode in a two-year dispute between the man and the county over the care of his horses. Botetourt County animal control officers seized six of Jack Cassell's horses Feb. 1 after a truck driver called 911 to report the horses blocking U.S. 220. The incident contributed to the latest set of charges. "If things don't improve, somebody is going to get killed one night," said Botetourt County General District Judge Louis Campbell. He convicted Cassell of five misdemeanor counts of allowing an animal to stray or trespass, but suspended all but one of the accompanying $250 fines. Both sides hope to bring the dispute to a quick end. Cassell's attorney, Robert Hagan, said that Cassell has a contract to put up an electrified fence and intends to find homes for all of his herd, which he's already reduced from about 30 to about 20. The judge's decision struck a fair balance between addressing a public safety issue and guarding against "overzealous enforcement" by impatient authorities, Hagan said. Assistant Botetourt Commonwealth's Attorney Jill Deegan said it's not prosecutors' goal to put Cassell behind bars or punish him with hefty fines. "We want Mr. Cassell to be in compliance." A neighbor of Cassell's, Randall Fletcher, testified that he's called Cassell about 100 times after finding Cassell's horses on his property or out in the road. Sgt. W.D. Horton with Botetourt County Animal Control testified that Cassell's fences have remained in poor repair for about two years. "We don't want to be back in here because a person has hit a horse and killed the horse and killed themselves before we get something done about it," Deegan said. Cassell, 79, faced trial in January on 33 counts of animal cruelty for allegedly allowing his horses to starve. He ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of depriving an animal of food and water, and agreed to reduce the size of his herd. Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom said prosecutors will wait to see how Cassell complies before deciding whether the new convictions will affect the January plea agreement. Hagan expressed concern about the manner in which the horses were seized Feb. 1. Usually, when horses are in the road, the owner, who can respond fastest, will be called first. But Cassell wasn't notified that his horses were on the highway. Instead he was called by a neighbor, Hagan said. In court, Hagan argued that there was no legal precedent for the county to seize the horses. The judge disagreed with him, saying the seizure was justified by the number of previous violations. Cassell has already sold two of the seized horses and will likely try to find homes for the other four, Hagan said.

Source: Roanoke Times - Feb 9, 2006 Update posted on Feb 10, 2006 - 7:58PM

References

• The Roanoke Times - Feb 3, 2006
• The Roanoke Times - May 9, 2006

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