Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Hoarding 70 animals

Hoarding 70 animals
Battle Creek, MI (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 2, 2006
County: Calhoun
Local Map: available
Disposition: Acquitted

Persons of Interest:
» John Wilkinson
» Cynthia Wilkinson

Case Updates: 6 update(s) available

Case ID: 9615

Classification: Hoarding

Animal: bird (pet), captive exotic, reptile

View more cases in MI (US)

Two people were charged on Sept 12 with animal cruelty after police seized about 70 animals from two Battle Creek homes in August.

John Wilkinson, 55, was arrested on Sept 11 on three counts, and his former wife, Cynthia Wilkinson, 52, was arrested on two counts of animal cruelty. He was released on a personal recognizance bond, and his wife posted $200 and was released.

The charges are misdemeanors with a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail. Both posted bond and were released pending a hearing in Calhoun County District Court.

The charges stem from the Aug. 2 seizure of animals kept inside the homes of John Wilkinson at 182 Harris St. and Cynthia Wilkinson at 178 Harris St.

Battle Creek police found birds, snakes, monkeys and other animals in unsanitary conditions, according to Animal Control Officer Ronda Burgess.

"They were unsanitary conditions, some without food or water," Burgess said Monday. "It was not an issue of if they were illegal but an issue of unsanitary conditions."

John Wilkinson denied that the animals were in unsanitary conditions. He said they were being cared for and fed, and the government is trying to take his collection.

"I think it's bogue what they did," he said Monday. "(The charges) were used to take the animals, and they are going to use a civil suit to steal them."

A forfeiture hearing will be held later this month to permanently take the animals from the Wilkinsons, police said.

After they were seized, the animals were taken to the Calhoun County Animal Shelter where they were treated and many placed in foster homes, including some at Binder Park Zoo. The snakes were turned over to the Michigan Society of Herpetologists.

Burgess said some of the animals, which were in poor health, have died, but most are now in good condition.

Police seized the animals when they accompanied agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who were investigating a weapons case against John Wilkinson. That case remains under investigation and he has not been charged.

Richard Pattison, attorney for John Wilkinson, said Monday his client has years of experience caring for the animals. He disputes that the animals were in poor living conditions.

"The average person may have found the conditions where the animals reside to be somewhat cramped, but that does not translate into the conditions being unlawful or unacceptable," Pattison said.

Pattison said possession of the animals was not illegal, and that Wilkinson is a collector who, in some cases, was raising the animals for an owner in Florida.

Dr. Pete VanVranken of Dickman Road Veterinary Clinic said "the city and county have done this guy wrong. There is really nothing wrong with what he was doing."

Wilkinson is a private contractor hired to clean the cages at the clinic, VanVranken said.

VanVranken complained before the warrants were announced that the case was dragging.

He also said animal control officers had been in the house but had not taken any action against the Wilkinsons.

Burgess said she had been inside and warned Wilkinson to improve conditions for the animals.

Cmdr. Jackie Hampton of the Battle Creek Police Department said the animal shelter has billed the city about $10,000 for caring for the animals.

Case Updates

Nearly 70 animals seized from a Battle Creek couple in August will be returned by next month according to a agreement signed today by a judge.

The City of Battle Creek seized the animals, including snakes, monkeys and rabbits, from John and Cynthia Wilkinson on Aug. 2 and 3. They were charged animal cruelty after police alleged the animals were left in dirty cages and without food and water.

The animals were placed in foster care as far away as Kentucky.

But earlier this month, a Calhoun County District Court jury acquitted the couple after a four-day trial.

And today, District Judge Frank Line signed an order worked out by Defense Attorney Richard Pattison and the Calhoun County prosecutor to return the animals to the Wilkinsons.

According to the order the animals will be returned to the Growing Point at 665 Capital Ave. S.W., where they will be checked by a veterinarian and then returned to the Wilkinsons.

All the animals must be returned by Jan. 17.

Sgt. Edwina Keyser said this week that Battle Creek police have not yet tabulated the cost of caring for the animals after they were seized.

Pattison said Thursday six or seven of the animals have died since they were seized.

Source: Battle Creek Enquirer - Dec 21, 2006
Update posted on Dec 22, 2006 - 1:39AM

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A jury has acquitted a Battle Creek couple of animal cruelty charges after a four-day trial.

"It seemed like the charges were made on a subjective case," said Todd Schurig the Calhoun County District Court jury foreman. "The animals were healthy and cared for, and it was all kind of subjective."

John Wilkinson, 55, of 182 Harris St., was charged with three counts of animal cruelty, and his former wife, Cynthia Wilkinson, 52, of 178 Harris St., was charged with two counts of animal cruelty.

Battle Creek police said they found 70 animals in the two houses in August, including monkeys, birds, ferrets and snakes, and that many were living in filthy conditions and without food or water.

"But there was nothing concrete presented by the prosecutor," Schurig said after the verdict. "They showed us pictures, but why not a filthy cage to show me?"

Schurig, four other men and a woman deliberated an hour and 15 minutes before returning their verdict.

Both faced up to 93 days in jail if convicted of the misdemeanors.

"I am just glad that the truth prevailed, because it is the truth," John Wilkinson said.

Cynthia Wilkinson declined comment.

Defense Attorney Richard Pattison said, "I believe, of course, that the correct verdict was rendered by the jury."

Pattison said the city's decision to take the animals and charge the couple was inappropriate and, after talking with jurors, "the pervading sentiment seemed to be that the city should have allowed the Wilkinsons time to cure the shortcomings."

Assistant Prosecutor Sarah Lincoln declined comment.

The animals have been placed in foster care and a forfeiture hearing is still scheduled to take the animals from the Wilkinsons.

"I have no idea what happens now," John Wilkinson said. "But I think I would get my animals back."

Pattison also said after the verdict that he is not sure if the forfeiture hearing will proceed.

On the witness stand Tuesday, a sometimes tearful John Wilkinson said he gave proper care to his animals.

"The animals are my life," he said. "Without the animals there is no me."

Wilkinson testified he had a regular pattern of feeding and providing fresh water to the animals every day and said he routinely cleaned their cages.

As an example, he said he had 500 to 1,000 mice in his freezer to feed the two to three dozen snakes he owned.

Wilkinson said he was careful to keep the temperature and humidity properly set for his animals and while his house was cluttered, the animals were healthy.

"I have clutter. I am Mr. Clutter," he said. "I am not laboratory clean, but none of my stuff was sick. I didn't know there were any laws against clutter."

The final defense witness in the four-day trial, Dr. Pete VanVranken of the Dickman Road Veterinary Clinic, said he had known Wilkinson for 20 years and that Wilkinson and his wife, Cynthia, had worked for years cleaning the clinic.

VanVranken, who loaned Wilkinson money to hire Pattison, said Wilkinson was "smart as a whip about exotic animals," and he blamed the police for having an agenda to raid the house.

"They just wanted to get that stuff out of there," VanVranken said. "There was an agenda for this."

But Lincoln denied any agenda.

"There were no men in black. There was no agenda," she said in her closing argument.

She said animal control officers were aware of the animals but there was nothing illegal.

Police seized the animals after officers from the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearm went to the house to investigate if Wilkinson had an illegal silencer. No charges have been filed in that case.

Lincoln said the animals were seized only after officers determined they were living in filthy conditions, without food or water.

"The snakes cages were full of feces and mummified mice," she told the jury.

Two monkeys, kept at Cynthia Wilkinson's home next door to her former husband, were in cages "that were rusty, that were filthy, that had no water and were completely inappropriate."

And she said a snapping turtle was in a plastic tub in the basement of the house "where there was not light and in brackish water."

In his closing argument, Pattison, said the animals were healthy and disputed the allegations of unclean conditions. He said Wilkinson knew how to care for the exotic animals he owned.

Pattison also argued that the investigation was poorly conducted and was part of a plan to take the animals.

"A terrible injustice has been done here," he said. "It was ill advised to take the animals out of the home. Someone went off and created a little storm."

But Lincoln dismissed the defense witnesses by telling the jurors that none of them saw the conditions on Aug. 2 and said the case is not about the Wilkinsons' past practices, or if they love animals or are good people.

"For the defense, it would have been nice to hear from someone who actually saw the animals," Lincoln concluded. "None of the defense witnesses were there on Aug. 2 except the Wilkinsons. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. They had animals that were beyond their ability to care for them."

Source: Battle Creek Enquirer - Dec 6, 2006
Update posted on Dec 8, 2006 - 11:14AM

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Testimony is scheduled to resume Tuesday before Calhoun County District Judge Frank Line. The Battle Creek man charged with animal cruelty will testify next week on what is expected to be the final day of the trial.

John Wilkinson, 55, of 182 Harris St., is charged with three counts of animal cruelty and his former wife, Cynthia Wilkinson, 52, of 178 Harris St. is charged with two counts. They were charged after Battle Creek police said they found 70 animals on Aug. 2 in their two homes in what officers described as filthy conditions.

If convicted of the misdemeanors, both face up to 93 days in jail and $1,000 fines.

During the second day of defense testimony Friday, the Wilkinsons' attorney, Richard Pattison, said he called witnesses to show the government made a mistake.

"The testimony presented by experts and lay witnesses support the reality that the animals in the Wilkinsons' homes were being properly cared for and seizing the 70-plus animals and disseminating them in every direction on the compass was ill-advised and unjustified."

Animal control officers were called to the house after police found snakes, birds, fish, ferrets, rabbits and chickens in what prosecution witnesses described as dirty cages and without proper ventilation, food or water.

One officer, Mike Ehart, testified he knew for years that the animals were in the house, but there was no law preventing ownership and police had not received any complaints. Wilkinson was known as "Cobra Man" because he had so many snakes.

Dr. Jeff LaHuis, a veterinarian with Dickman Road Veterinary Clinic at 455 W. Dickman Road and an expert in reptile medicine, testified that pictures of snakes and a turtle show the animals were healthy when they were seized.

Although witnesses called by Assistant Prosecutor Sarah Lincoln said the tanks and cages for the snakes were filled with feces, old snake skins and dead mice, LaHuis, looking at pictures taken by John Wilkinson, said he saw "nothing remarkable about the snake tanks."

LaHuis, like several other defense witnesses, were not present at the Wilkinson house on Aug. 2 when the animals were seized.

Grace Emley, a psychologist with the Foundation of Behavioral Resources in Augusta, said he once had as many as 90 monkeys and, after seeing pictures of two monkeys in the care of Cynthia Wilkinson, said they didn't appear frightened and the cages appeared adequate.

Cynthia Wilkinson testified later and showed pictures of the monkeys playing with children and taking a nap with John Wilkinson.

"Our goal is to have the Wilkinsons found not guilty and whatever animals remain to have them returned to them," Pattison said.

A hearing to determine forfeiture of the animals from the Wilkinsons will be held later.

Source: Battle Creek Enquirer - Dec 2, 2006
Update posted on Dec 2, 2006 - 12:09PM

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Testimony before a six-person jury and District Judge Frank Line was adjourned until Friday when the trial is expected to conclude. If found guilty, the couple face maximum penalties of 93 days in jail.

Snakes seized from a Battle Creek home this summer were in good shape, a defense witness testified Wednesday.

"I didn't see anything wrong," said Mitch Brynes, owner of Diamond Reptile Breeders in Bushnell, Fla. "All the snakes were fat and healthy. None of those snakes were thin."

Brynes was the first witness called by Defense Attorney Richard Pattison in the trial of John Wilkinson, 55, of 182 Harris St. and his former wife, Cynthia Wilkinson, 52, of 178 Harris St.

Both are charged in Calhoun County District Court with animal cruelty after Battle Creek police said they found animals in both homes living in filthy conditions without adequate food or water.

Brynes, who said he has 1,000 snakes at his business, said he has known John Wilkinson for 10 years. He said he has sold him snakes and other animals and hired Wilkinson to raise some of his animals.

More than a dozen of the 20 to 30 snakes seized at the house on Aug. 2 belonged to Brynes, he said.

Looking at a series of photographs taken the day of the police raid, Brynes said the aquariums and cages appeared adequate in size and were clean. He said the snakes appeared to be healthy.

He disputed earlier testimony that the cages were too small.

"People think bigger is better," he said, "but they feel more secure in smaller areas. Bigger looks nicer, but it's not needed."

Brynes said the snakes also defecate as a way to mark their territory as soon as cages are cleaned, "and if the cages are too clean they will try to get away from their domain."

The testimony contradicted several prosecution witnesses called Tuesday and Wednesday by Assistant Prosecutor Sarah Lincoln.

James Harrison, director of the Kentucky Reptile Zoo in Slade, Ky., said several of the snakes were sent to his facility for care after they were taken from the Wilkinsons.

He said several had minor injuries and that some of the cages he saw were dirty, broken and too small for the snakes.

"I put my hand in one cage and you couldn't see my hand through the glass," he said.

And Sean Trimbach of Medway, Ohio, who took the snakes to Harrison, said "the cleanliness was atrocious. It didn't appear they had been cared for or cleaned them for a number of weeks."

Eric Tobin of Battle Creek, the president of the Michigan Association of Herpetologists, said he helped remove the animals from the homes and saw cages with fecal material and some without water.

"There had been considerable time without cleaning," he said.

Source: Battle Creek Enquirer - Nov 30, 2006
Update posted on Nov 30, 2006 - 10:31AM

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A battle of experts continues today in the trial of a couple charged with animal cruelty.

John Wilkinson, 55, of 182 Harris St., and his former wife, Cynthia Wilkinson, 52, of 178 Harris St., are charged with animal cruelty after Battle Creek police said they found 70 animals, many of them exotic, living in filthy conditions without adequate water or food in the Wilkinsons' homes.

"What is going to be the big issue," Assistant Calhoun County Prosecutor Sarah Lincoln told a District Court jury, "is whether they were being properly cared for. Some are saying yes, and some are saying no."

John Wilkinson is charged with three counts of animal cruelty and Cynthia Wilkinson with two counts. Both face up to 93 days in jail and fines of $1,000 if convicted.

Testimony continues today before District Judge Frank Line.

The couple were charged after police went to the homes Aug. 2 as part of a firearms investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives against John Wilkinson. He has not been charged in that case.

But officers said they found the animals � including snakes, a snapping turtle, birds, fish, ferrets, rabbits and chickens � in unsanitary conditions.

"They were filthy," Animal Control Officer Ronda Burgess told Lincoln about cages holding between 20 and 30 snakes. "They apparently had not been cleaned in some time."

Later during cross examination by Defense Attorney Richard Pattison, Burgess said "when I go into a house that smells so bad my eyes are burning, then I think there is a problem. I took all the animals for the welfare of the animals."

Burgess said she found cages filled with feces and most without water. But she admitted to Pattison that she didn't know much about caring for exotic animals.

"That's why we consulted with people who know about animals," she said.

The city called in several experts from Binder Park Zoo and the surrounding area, and some of them will testify at the trial.

Dr. Jeff LaHuis, a veterinarian at the Dickman Road Animal Veterinary at 455 W. Dickman Road, said he saw animals living in poor conditions without food and water.

LaHuis said one rabbit he inspected "was not eating and was very thin. If you took the fur off, you were looking at a stick figure."

Dr. John Patterson, a veterinarian at Michigan State University, conducted a necropsy on the rabbit, which died a few days after it was seized.

Patterson said the rabbit died from starvation, and while eating problems could be attributed to the stress of being moved the week before it died, its condition had been deteriorating three to four weeks.

Teresa Moran of Lansing, an expert on snakes, said she took temporary custody of 16 snakes from the house and she found they were living in cages and tanks that were too small, were dirty and were lacking water.

"Some looked like they had not been cleaned in weeks, if not longer," she said.

Pattison told the jury in his opening statement that he would call veterinarians who would testify that the conditions were fine for the animals.

"All the questions will be answered so that it will convince you that Mr. Wilkinson knows what he is doing," Pattison said.

"This case is about the government visiting terrible damage on the animals and families living there," he said. "They did a terrible disservice to my clients, their beloved animals and the community.

Source: Battle Creek Enquirer - Nov 29, 2006
Update posted on Nov 29, 2006 - 11:04PM

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Prosecutors called a number of witnesses in court Tuesday. They all testified to the filthy living conditions that the animals were living in.

John and Cynthia Wilkenson live next door to each other on Harris Ave. in Battle Creek. Back in August animal control officers removed 70 animals from their two homes including venemous snakes, monkeys, exotic birds and an alligator snapping turtle. Officers say that the cages were covered in waste and didn't have food or fresh water.

The Wilkinsons' defense attorney Richard Patteson says that the animal control officers aren't trained in the care of exotic animals and don't know what proper living conditions are needed.

The animals are being kept by experts, zoos and in foster homes until their future is decided. Testimony in this trial is expected to continue Wednesday.

Source: WWMT - Nov 28, 2006
Update posted on Nov 29, 2006 - 10:13PM

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Hoarding 70 animalsBattle Creek, MI (US)

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Hoarding 70 animals
Battle Creek, MI (US)