Horses Seized In Cruelty Case Could Be Returned To Owner
A Spokane Valley man accused of nearly starving his two horses to death agreed Friday to a plea arrangement that would return his animals to him next week.
Frank D. Williams, 38, pled guilty to one count of second-degree animal cruelty. In exchange, the county prosecutor agreed to drop the second count.
District Court Judge Mike Padden sentenced Williams to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, the maximum allowable by law. Williams also received two years probation.
Padden then suspended the fine and jail time, and ordered Williams to reimburses the county the $1,600 it spent to treat and rehabilitate the 12-year-old gelding and 8-year-old mare.
As part of the agreement, Williams must make a $200 payment on the balance he owes the county by next Wednesday to get his horses back, Padden ruled.
Williams also must set up a care program with a veterinarian and submit a certificate of the horses’ health every six months during his probation.
Padden did not find the neglect to be willful, said Garald Gesinger, county deputy civil prosecutor.
The plea agreement comes on the heels of a motion filed by Williams’s public defender, Michael Elston, asking for the return of Williams’ horses pending a trial.
County animal control officers took the horses from Williams’s home at 16613 E. Foothills on Dec. 19 after he allegedly failed to make improvements to their living conditions. The case is the worst in recent memory, animal control officials said.
“These are the thinnest horses I’ve ever seen of this age,” said officer Sheri Kent, who testified during Wednesday’s hearing to determine if the horses would be returned to Williams.
Williams faced two counts of second-degree animal cruelty.
He admitted during Wednesday’s hearing the horses were living in unhealthy conditions before they were seized, but his attorney told Padden his client has since provided adequate food, water and shelter in anticipation of the horses return.
Williams’ wife, Lauren, 33, also faces two counts of second-degree animal cruelty.
Six photos Gesinger introduced as evidence during the trial showed the skin on both horses clinging to their ribs and burrs embedded in the mare’s skin.
The horses were treated by a veterinarian for nearly a month following their seizure. They are still considerably underweight and are being cared for by an Otis Orchards woman who rehabilitates horse.
Elston argued that the neglect was unintentional and the result of extraordinary events.
The November ice storm, the region’s worst natural disaster in recent memory, led to a rapid decline in the condition of the horses, Williams testified.
“I just had not paid that much attention to them at that point in time,” Williams said.
, DataTimes