CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #9268 Rating: 2.8 out of 5
20 Neglected dogs removed from squalor
Woodbine, MD (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jan 2, 2001
County: Howard
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Joseph Francis Richards
Joseph Francis Richards, 42, has been convicted of 13 counts of animal cruelty and sentenced to probation. On Jan 2, 2001 investigators went into the Woodbine home he shared with his 78-year old mother and found 20 neglected, thin dogs living in squalor.
Richards said the dogs belonged to his mother, but Judge Raymond J. Kane Jr, Howard County Circuit Court said he was responsible for providing "sustenance" for the dogs.
When the authorities went into the home on 15200 block of Frederick Road after receiving an anonymous complaint, they found Katherine Richards sitting in a chair upstairs, surrounded by 18 of the dogs. The room she was found in was filthy, smelled of dog feces and urine. There were two dogs in another room.
Katherine Richards testified the dogs were hers. She said she assumed responsibility for the dogs. She knew them all by name, she fed them, brushed them, and took them outside. "They were my family," she said.
It was stated that Katherine Richards was not in any condition to care for the animals at the time of the investigation. Judge Kane Jr said, "He (Joseph Richards) was part of the family. .... Richards was not a stranger renting the downstairs apartment."
The judge acquitted Richards of seven cruelty counts because the animals appeared to be healthier than the others. Two dogs were adopted and the other 18 dogs were euthanized.
Katherine Richards said during cross-examination the house did not smell, she cleaned up after the dogs. Her testimony contradicted the testimony of the animal control officers about the state of the home during their Jan 2 investigation.
Joseph Richards has moved out of his mother's home and is now living in Baltimore, MD. He was sentenced to 13 consecutive 90-day jail terms but jail time was suspended, he is on 18 months of supervised probation. References« MD State Animal Cruelty Map
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