WEST VIRGINIA -- A man from Kanawha County indicted on animal cruelty charges was in court for his arraignment on Thursday.
Clint Casto, 30, of 913 Amherst Drive, was arrested Monday after a Kanawha County humane officer found a dead horse almost complete decomposed in a stall on Casto's property along Five Mile Hollow near Big Chimney.
A second horse was in the next stall and was completely emaciated and barely able to stand, according to a complaint filed with the Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Kanawha County humane officer Johnny Brotherton said in the complaint that there was no food or water in the stalls and there didn't appear to have been any for a long time.
In court, Casto pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is currently out of jail on a $25,000 bond. His trial is set for October 1.
Casto was apparently a candidate for the state House of Delegates last year.
(WSAZ - July 23, 2009)
