Farmed animal neglect
Klamath Falls, OR (US)Incident Date: Monday, Jun 30, 2008
County: Klamath
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Leta Johnson
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
An 80-year-old woman accused of neglecting her livestock and horses has been jailed in Klamath County.
Authorities say they've been working with Leta Johnson for more than a year but found about half her animals in poor condition this week.
She has about 200 sheep, 55 horses and 12 head of cattle on her property. She says she's been sick and her hired hand hasn't been doing a good job.
District Attorney Ed Caleb says law enforcement officials didn't want to put Johnson in jail but it was unacceptable to see the animals neglected. Her bail is $100,000.
Investigators came first came on neglected animals at her place when they investigated the shooting death of a ranch hand in April 2007. That case remains unsolved.
Case UpdatesAn 80-year-old Klamath County woman released from jail last week on the condition she feed her farm animals will stand trial next month because authorities say she has not complied.
Leta Johnson faces 10 counts of animal neglect, a charge that dates to April 2007. She was re-arrested last week, when authorities said they found many of her 200 sheep, 55 horses and 12 cattle malnourished during a site visit.
A judge let her out of jail on the condition she buy food and feed the animals. But the district attorney's office said Tuesday that the animals have only been fed with food donated through the Humane Society, and the office has been unable to contact Johnson.
Deputy district attorney Cole Chase said the office has been negotiating with Johnson for more than a year because it doesn't want to turn the situation into a criminal matter.
He said her inaction leaves no choice. | Source: KTVZ - July 2, 2008
Update posted on Jul 2, 2008 - 3:37PM |
References« OR State Animal Cruelty Map
|
