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CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #4896 Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Hoarding - 59 cats, 66 dogs, 3 horses, more
Kingston, TN (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jun 24, 2005
County: Roane
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 4 files available
Defendants/Suspects:
» Rehnee P. Harvey
» Terry F. Harvey
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
Renee Harvey, the Director of Angel Wings Cat Sanctuary, faces 37 counts of cruelty to animals.
She waived a formal reading of charges on June 27, 2005 in Roane County.
Without saying a word, Renee Harvey signed court documents saying she is not guilty of abusing 37 animals in her care at Angel Wings, but members of the community say they're shocked about the accusations.
"It is a good county to live in and it is a good county that takes animals into consideration as far as city officials. It is a shock to me that something like that would happen in Roane County, in a county I have lived in all of my life," says Dr. Breigh Burns, Veterinarian.
"I would just like to see all of the animals taken care of, healthy. If they can't be taken care of there they need to be taken care of elsewhere," says Nancy Quarles, from the Roane Animal Shelter.
One local veterinarian says she has seen less and less cats from the shelter adopted out to owners.
"Whether they were still being adopted I am not sure. I do feel like there has been a decline in patients I have seen adopted from that organization," says Dr. Burns.
Dr. Burns says she doesn't know if that is because Angel Wings is adopting out less cats, or if the facility is using a different vet. Court personnel say all of the animals have been removed from Angel Wings, but their fate hasn't been released.
Harvey is scheduled to go to trial March 29, 2006.
There is no comment from the Attorney General's Office about the charges. Harvey is out of jail on bond.
Case UpdatesRehnee and Terry Harvey won't do any jail time for the 187 counts of cruelty to animals they were charged with in 2005.
They entered into a plea deal with Assistant District Attorney General Patricia Murphy on Monday in criminal court. In exchange for guilty pleas, the Harveys received unsupervised probation. The 11 months and 29 days they could have received in the Roane County Jail was suspended.
Harold Balcom Jr., attorney for the Harveys, had little to say about the plea agreement.
"I don't really have any comment," he said. "I think both sides were pleased with the results when it was all said and done."
Rehnee Harvey was the founder of Angel Wings Cat Rescue and Sanctuary South of the River.
On June 30, 2005, Roane County Animal Control officers and several animal welfare organizations found 168 animals on properties owned by the Harveys.
Many of the animals rescued were sick or in poor condition, but some were dead.
Kara Disbrow was one of the members of The Stray Connection who helped rescue the sick animals that included cats, dogs and horses.
Disbrow said she is appalled the Harveys won't receive any jail time for the charges.
"This is a joke," she said.
One of the conditions of the plea agreement is the Harveys cannot operate any pet business.
Another condition is the defendants must pay $3,000 to Horse Haven for animals that were seized.
The Harveys also are restricted on the number of animals they can own. | Source: Roane County News - April 27, 2007
Update posted on Apr 27, 2007 - 1:39PM |
On October 17, 2005, a Roane County Grand Jury levied additional charges against Rehnee P. Harvey who operates Angel Wings Cat Rescue and Sanctuary. The organization was incorporated to protect cats through preventing animal cruelty, promoting adoption of homeless cats and spay and neutering of all animals. Terry F. Harvey, who was allegedly involved in the organization, was also a defendant on all counts of the indictment.
On June 21, 2005, a Roane County Grand Jury indicted Rehnee P. Harvey, founder and president of Angel Wings Cat Rescue and Sanctuary, on thirty-seven counts of animal cruelty which are alleged to have occurred in March 2005.
On June 30, 2005 a lawsuit to abate the nuisance was filed on behalf of the State by District Attorney General Scott McCluen alleging that the animals in the custody of Angel Wings and Rehnee and Terry Harvey were suffering from the lack of necessary food, water, shelter and appropriate veterinary care and were in immediate risk of dying due to these conditions.
Roane County Animal Control officers and others were acting under a June 30, 2005 Chancery Court order to abate the nuisance and rescue the animals and observed conditions which resulted in the additional criminal charges. On that date, according to rescue officials, one hundred sixty - eight (168) animals were observed, one hundred forty (140) were rescued, nineteen (19) were found dead and nine (9) animals were left as the Harvey's personal pets.
Roane County Animal Control officers were assisted by several Knox County nonprofit animal welfare organizations, several Knox County veterinarians and the UT College of Veterinary Medicine.
According to Ninth District Attorney General Scott McCluen, all tolled, Rehnee Harvey and Terry F. Harvey face 187 counts of cruelty to animals. The Defendants face a possible sentence of up to eleven months twenty - nine days confinement and a maximum $2,500 fine on each count of the indictment. The Harvey's are scheduled for trial in Roane County Criminal Court on August 10, 2006 and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
In the meantime, the defendants have been temporarily enjoined by the Roane County Chancery Court from having any animals other than the personal pets that they had on June 30, 2005. Further they are prevented from soliciting funds on behalf of Angel Wings Cat Rescue and Sanctuary pending a final hearing in Chancery Court. No trial date in Chancery Court has been set. | Source: Office of the District Attorney General Scott McCluen - Press Release
Update posted on Oct 25, 2005 - 2:03PM |
After securing a court order June 30, Roane County sheriff's deputies, animal control officers and a team of animal rescue volunteers from AnimalWorks, Grreat Dog Rescue, Horse Haven of Tennessee, Knoxville Feral Cat Friends, Peaceful Kingdom and the Stray Connection seized animals from the properties of Rehnee and Terry Harvey, who owned Angel Wings Cat Rescue and Sanctuary, according to a release from the Roane County District Attorney General's Office.
The rescue efforts were planned and executed after the June 21 indictment of Rehnee Harvey on 37 counts of animal cruelty, the release said.
The charges stemmed from tips that animals were being abused through neglect at Angel Wings. Kara Disbrow, an Angel Wings board of directors member, went and took pictures of the sites where animals were living: The Cats' House, which is a 4-acre property Rehnee purchased for all the cats to live on, Rehnee's house and Terry's house.
"On March 30, I took the pictures of the conditions they were living in to the district attorney in Roane County," said Disbrow. "I thought that the pictures would cause Angel Wings to be shut down immediately, but it took months because we wanted to get ownership of the animals."
Once an investigation began, Rehnee began to turn over some of the animals voluntarily to animal rescue groups. Only a small number of people knew about the planned seizure of the animals, and Frey wrote a formal plan to the judge as to how the animals would be rescued. The legal ownership of the animals would go to Carmen Trammell, who owns Peaceful Kingdom, a nonprofit animal welfare organization.
"We had all the vets and the foster homes lined up," Frey said. "We had it all planned out, but it didn't quite work out that way. We didn't get the (permission from the court) to go in until 3 p.m."
Neither Disbrow, Frey nor Trammell knew the extent of the abuse they'd see at the sites just two months after Disbrow had taken the initial pictures.
"Feces and urine covered floors on the porches and the floors inside of the house. I started moving the furniture and discovered corpses. We worked quickly and put cats into crates, sometimes two or three into the larger crates."
Disbrow was shocked at the level of neglect.
"I knew it was going to be bad, but I had no idea how bad," Disbrow said. "The dogs seemed to be in worse shape. They were in pens, so there was no getting away. A lot had to be put down. There was no saving them."
Trammell was saddened not only by the conditions, but that nothing had been done sooner.
"I just remember hearing people say things over the past couple of years, but I knew Rehnee, and I just couldn't believe it," Trammell said. "I was sad we didn't intervene sooner."
By the end of the seizure, volunteers had recovered 59 cats, 66 dogs, three horses, one donkey, two sheep, four goats and five exotic animals. Nineteen animals were found dead at the site. Vets and volunteers worked into the night to see that the rescued animals received immediate veterinary care. The Stray Connection took the cats, and Peaceful Kingdom took the dogs. That first night, most of the cats stayed in Frey's garage.
"There were so many volunteers at my house, there was no room for the foster families to park and pick up the cats," Frey said. "All of these groups have worked together on this process, which is great because everyone has a different philosophy. But everyone wanted to work together to get the animals out of this situation. It's been a nice collaborative effort."
Most of the animals that were taken have been placed in foster homes, other shelters or have been reclaimed by previous owners, but there is still a need for individuals willing to take animals in.
"We really need people to commit for at least a month or two," Frey said. "To move the cat for a week and then move them back is not really helping the cat. Some may wonder what kind of animal they're getting, but animals are very resilient. When you start loving them and they find they can trust you, they're so loving and make great pets. They're just so grateful to have food and water, and someone to care for them and love them."
All those involved have worked long hours to rehabilitate the animals and try to find homes for them. Disbrow built a large enclosed porch on the side of her East Knoxville home to house some of the rescued cats. Frey is working 12 hours a day to take care of the cats and answer the stream of e-mail messages from concerned people looking for an animal they sent to Angel Wings.
If you would like more information about adopting an Angel Wings cat, or fostering them, call The Stray Connection at (865) 531-9050. | Source: Knox News - Aug 3, 2005
Update posted on Aug 7, 2005 - 1:45AM |
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