The 11th District Court of Appeals rejected the argument that a volunteer cannot be criminally liable for animal cruelty or neglect. Facts. Jo Ann Brantweiner was charged with 8 counts of companion animal cruelty involving a total of 97 dogs and cats. The animals were kept by a nonprofit organization known as the Animal Rescue…
The 11th District Court of Appeals upheld a number of notable, special sanctions in an animal hoarding case we prosecuted in the Willoughby Municipal Court for the Eastlake Police Department. Facts: Defendant Nadine Betchel operated a loosely organized nonprofit animal rescue operation called the Animal Resource Center in Eastlake, Ohio. Officers executed a search warrant…
On September 20, 2019, the 11th District Court of Appeals in Ohio held that a sentencing court may order an animal cruelty offender to forfeit horses as a condition of probation without going through the more cumbersome process of a full forfeiture proceeding. The history of this case is complicated. Defendant Bianca Marcellino was convicted…
State v. David Taylor a case we prosecuted for the Lake Humane Society resulting in a lifetime ban from keeping companion animals. Taylor was convicted in the Willoughby Municipal Court of 9 counts of companion animal cruelty after trial for neglecting his three dogs, who were kept in a cluttered, dirty yard full of debris,…
State of Ohio v. Christopher Bittner, a case prosecuted for the Cleveland Animal Protective League. Bittner plead no contest to two second degree misdemeanor counts pertaining to his neglect of 10 dogs. Bitter was breeding bulldogs and the operation got out of control, causing the dogs to suffer from an overwhelming odor of excrement and…
With the temperature in the teens for the next few days, we’re sending out a reminder about shelter requirements for companion animals pursuant to state code! Cleveland enacted new animal neglect ordinances in December 2014, which were then enacted by several other localities. Those ordinances provide bright-line rules about what qualifies as appropriate shelter and…
State v. Patricia Floyd, a case we prosecuted which was investigated by Animal Charity of Ohio. Floyd pled guilty to 4 counts of animal cruelty for neglecting 7 horses. Two had extremely long hooves, several were dehydrated or excessively thin, and all were living in filthy conditions. Horses require regular hoof trimming by a qualified…
State v. Christopher Overton, a case we prosecuted in Youngstown investigated by Animal Charity of Ohio, the Humane Society which serves Mahoning County. Mr. Overton had three dogs. Two were in good condition. The third had an extreme untreated skin condition which caused large sections of skin to be red, raw and bloody. Blood and…
State of Ohio v. Travis Wargo and Cari Welk, a case prosecuted for Lake Humane Society. Wargo and Welk both pled guilty to animal neglect. The case involved two cats, Liam and Logan, and a dog, Lily, that were kept in deplorable conditions.The animals suffered from various untreated medical conditions. While the other animals were…
State of Ohio v. Sheri (Shari) Gilbert, a case prosecuted for Lake Humane Society. Gilbert pled guilty to all 10 counts of animal neglect on the day of trial. 24 animals, including dogs, cats, parrots, a guinea pig, and ferrets, were seized from Gilbert’s home. The animals were kept in deplorable conditions and suffered from…