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Case #938 Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Severe horse neglect
Brothers, OR (US)Incident Date: Friday, Nov 29, 2002
County: Deschutes
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 3 files available
Defendants/Suspects:
» Wayne Nichols
» Rebecca Nichols
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
Deschutes County officials found and seized almost 130 horses in various stages of poor health, abuse and neglect – about half of them pregnant. They also discovered eight to 10 horse skeletons near the resident couple's small travel trailer on the property, according to an affidavit filed in order to secure a search warrant.
The 10-page affidavit, including photos, was signed Dec. 3 before Deschutes County Circuit Judge Stephen Tiktin by sheriff's Detective Paul Garrison. It recounted how the case arose Nov. 29, when sheriff's office Field Technician Mark Ereth responded to a report of possible animal abuse.
Hay dealer Brad Martin told Ereth that he and Marty Kent went to collect money for hay that had been delivered by Kent three months earlier, and saw 80 to 90 head of horses suffering from poor health. Martin took photos that were included in the affidavit, and Kent said a horse lying in a corral when he delivered the hay three months earlier still was in poor health and laying down when he returned.
Ereth, accompanied by fellow field techs Laura May-Smith and Mike Sundberg, went on Dec. 2 to the residence at 56255 Moffitt Road of Wayne and Rebecca "Bunny" Nichols. Several initial attempts to contact the couple met with no success, Garrison reported.
Ereth reported observing about 114 (later found to be 129) head of horses present, Garrison wrote, and "all were believed to be in poor health … a result of poor nutrition, with the ribs of the animals visible, and elongated hooves.
"While at the residence, Technician Ereth observed multiple bones next to an outbuilding located on the property," Garrison wrote. "In … Ereth's opinion, the bones observed were from horses. In addition to the horses mentioned, a total of eight to 10 skeletons, believed to be horses, were observed in the immediate area of the residence."
Ereth also contacted Brothers Store employee Toma Dalesky, who advised that "she had some concern over the health of the horses at the Nichols residence," as "Wayne Nichols is elderly, and in her opinion unable to care for that many animals." She also said "she was aware that the Nichols owed money to several hay suppliers and that the Nichols income was Social Security in nature."
A check on the couple's criminal histories found that Wayne Nichols was arrested in Chehalis County, Wash., in October 1973 for cruelty to animals and allowing animals to run at large.
Sponsors of Saturday night's Charlie Daniels Band concert at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds are joining the expanding effort to raise funds and gather materials to help care for 128 horses – many of them pregnant – that were seized from a Millican Valley ranch earlier this week.
Area veterinarians have moved all of the horses from the Brothers-area property of Wayne Nichols, 67, and Rebecca Nichols, 61, to the county fairgrounds for triage and treatment, Sheriff Les Stiles said Friday. The process of worming, inoculating and evaluating the medical condition of each horse is expected to take about a week, he added.
All of the seized horses are under their optimum weight, and many have significant medical problems to address, officials said. For example, at least two are blind in one eye, due to an untreated trauma or infection, veterinarians said, and many need special care for their feet, due to untrimmed hooves that were up to a foot long, leaving them all but crippled.
"The most immediate concern is the 20 mares ready to foal sometime within the next two weeks," Stiles said. "We are trying to secure space to accommodate these animals, and we need to find people whoa re experienced with the foaling."
"We don't know what kind of shape the newborns will be in, given the poor health of the mares, but we do know the number of animals will increase significantly – and so will the costs of caring for them," the sheriff said.
The veterinarians also estimate that another, significant number of mares are going to foal over the coming months. It's possible, Stiles said, that the number of horses being cared for could top 200 before the case makes its way through the courts and final disposition of the animals is determined.
Sponsors of the Charlie Daniels event have agreed to donate a portion of every ticket sold to the 'Save the Horses' fund, the sheriff said. Also, a $1 ticket discount will be given to every person who brings a halter or lead rope to the concert. Radio station KSJJ, meanwhile, will have a mechanical bull at the fairgrounds, and will donate all of those proceeds to the "Save the Horses" fund.
Authorities actually found 129 horses, Stiles said, but one of the volunteers offered on their own to buy from the couple, and tend for one of the injured horses, which needs tendon surgery costing $20,000 to $30,000. In return, authorities agreed not to include that horse in the criminal charges, the sheriff said.
The horse owners who lived on a rented parcel at 56255 Moffitt Road were arrested and booked Thursday on 128 counts of first-degree animal abuse, then released on their own recognizance, in a massive horse neglect case that has touched the nation's hearstrings, bringing donations of hay, cash and other help from near and far.
A county jail spokesman in Bend said Thursday night that the couple met release criteria on the charges, which are Class A misdemeanors, and so were released on their own recognizance, pending an initial court appearance on Dec. 18.
Meanwhile, authorities boosted the number of horses found and seized from the location, from 114 to 129.
The public has responded generously to the animals' plight with an outpouring of concern and donations. Stiles said Thursday that a large storage facility or barn for several tons of hay and supplies was the biggest immediate need.
A "Save the Horses" donation center has been established, and volunteers can be reached at a new, toll-free number, 1-800-815-4868.
Stiles said that while some of the horses are in questionable shape, others are doing well enough that it will only take a few weeks for them to recover: "Six weeks in someone's pasture, with tender loving care, and they should be good as new."
The sheriff noted Wednesday that the property owners are cooperating with the effort, and no arrests have been made while the investigation continues. He also said many of the horses found Tuesday had no access to food or water and had not been maintained for some time. About a third of the mares found on the property are pregnant.
In a small conference room across the hall from Stiles' office, volunteers filled out forms with each caller's contact info and what they were offering – pasture land, hay, transportation, money, veterinary services or as a farrier (blacksmith) to help shoe the horses, some crippled by untrimmed hooves up to a foot long.
The sheriff paid periodic visits to thank the volunteers and keep them updated, reporting that the first group of horses had been moved off the site and to an undisclosed "triage area" where veterinarians will examine each horse to determine its health status. He said the site had stock fences and chutes to hold wild horses, as it appeared "many of them haven't been touched by humans."
Those offering to board the horses while the potentially lengthy legal process takes place will be asked to sign a foster agreement that lays out 11 points, the first being: "I understand the cost of such care is my responsibility." It also points out there's no assurances they may ever own the horse, depending on the outcome of the court case.
Spieger passed along a top caller concern, about the foals of those horses that are pregnant, and what's to be done with them. "They are going to stay with their moms," he said.
Then there's the logical, other question callers are asking – will those who want to keep the horses get to do so? The obvious answer was given by Stiles – that there can be no such guarantees. But he also said that under state law, "once the case is adjudicated, if the judge removes the ownership of the horses from the (suspects), the people who have been caring for them have the first right of adoption."
The couple who rent the property at 56255 Moffitt Road have yet to be charged or publicly identified, but the location is being guarded around the clock, Stiles said.
"This is not the time, at our stage of the investigation, to make an arrest," the sheriff said. "I can assure, there will be an arrest. There will be formal charges."
"The two suspects have nowhere to run to," Stiles said. "Our first priority is to save the lives of these animals."
The case arose Monday afternoon, when a hay feed delivery driver went to the sheriff's office in Bend. He told deputies he had just tried to make a delivery and get paid for past deliveries to the property, located about eight miles east of Millican (38 miles east of Bend and 1 ½ miles south of Highway 20, Stiles said.
"He noticed looking over at the horses and was pretty shocked to see hooves 12 inches long – they can't even walk – and other horses clearly emaciated," Stiles said. The hay deliveryman got a camera from his rig and took some photos, bringing the film to the sheriff's department, where animal technicians Mark Ereth reviewed the information and went with colleagues Mike Sundberg and Laura May-Smith to investigate the potential first-degree animal abuse allegations, a Class C felony.
"When they got there, just driving in to contact the owners, they saw a number of problems with horses that were malnourished," Stiles said. "Some were lying down and couldn't even get up. The saw hooves that ranged from 3-12 inches, so the horses essentially were crippled and couldn't walk."
The animal techs tried to contact the owners, but they were not home, the sheriff said. The investigation continued Tuesday and Circuit Judge Michael Adler issued a search warrant, based on the information provided by affidavit.
A briefing was held Tuesday afternoon at the sheriff's department on the investigation, including the incident commander, Lt. Marc Mills, and 18 others, including those who would conduct photography and evidence collection, two veterinarians, a horse farrier, a state brand inspector and Deputy District Attorney Mary Anderson.
"We went out and secured the premises," executing the search warrant around 3:30 Tuesday afternoon, Stiles said. "We had to secure those horses. We had to do something."
"Once we determined it was safe for everybody to come in, the vets evaluated the horses as quickly as they could," the sheriff said. "It looks like at least five are going to have to be put down (Wednesday)."
Mills said the owners later arrived at the location, were identified, interviewed and released, pending further investigation. "It appears at this time that some of the horses are in poor condition, some serious," the lieutenant said.
The agency began making arrangements to move the remaining horses off the "extremely crowded" parcel, Stiles said, adding that the department is "going to triage as best we can," transporting them to one, undisclosed location.
"Once they are at a secure location, we'll have the ability to go through horse by horse, evaluating and documenting the condition for possible legal charges," the sheriff said. "Then we'll be looking for people who have the space to take them."
With the word just getting out, "one person already volunteered to take five (horses). A vet agreed to take the worst four, medically, and to donate his time. Our goal is to get as many horses to survive as we can."
Stiles noted that the costs of dealing with so many horses could well dwarf the ongoing investigation into a late-October homicide in La Pine, which he said is "the most expensive investigation that I can recall, surely in the last 22 months I've been at the sheriff's office. It's turned the budget upside down – resources, personnel."
"We are in need of quality hay, veterinary supplies for horses," the sheriff said. "We're in need of people who have rigs who would be willing to transport hay from one location to another." That's because "people are calling in and saying, 'I have room for two (horses),' 'I have room for five – but I don't have any hay,'" Stiles said. "'I've got enough hay for my own stock, but not for new ones.' So we need folks to make a hay run for these people."
Case UpdatesWayne Nichols, 68, received 195 days in jail; Rebecca Nichols, 62, received 192 days.
Under the sentence, each must pay a $1,000 fine. Upon their release they'll each face 60 months of supervised probation. During that time they are prohibited from owning animals, whether livestock or domestic pets, Adler said. | | Update posted on Jun 21, 2003 - 6:02PM |
| All horses were auctioned off March 1, 2003 at Deschutes Co. Fairgrounds | | Update posted on Apr 22, 2003 - 5:01PM |
| Wayne Nichols pleaded guilty to 65 counts of second-degree animal neglect, a Class B misdemeanor, and his wife, Rebecca "Bunny" Nichols, pleaded guilty to 64 counts of the same charge during a brief hearing before Circuit Judge Michael Sullivan, who had held a successful, 3 and a half hour closed-door settlement conference on Friday afternoon. | | Update posted on Mar 22, 2003 - 12:55PM |
References- Bend.Com
- Deschutes Co Circuit Court, Oregon - Case# 02FE1406MA
- Deschutes Co Circuit Court, Oregon - Case# 02FE1407MA
- The Bend Bulletin
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