ARKANSAS -- An Austin-area woman arrested last summer on multiple charges of cruelty to animals has been found guilty of some of those charges and will go before Circuit Judge Sandy Huckabee Friday for sentencing.
Jurors heard testimony for three days before deliberating four hours on March 15 and finding Sandra Nance (aka Sandy Nance), 57, guilty of five counts of cruelty to animals and her husband Marcus Nance, 62, not guilty.
Both were acquitted of aggravated animal cruelty, a felony charge that implies animal torture.
The jury was not able to reach agreement on a sentencing recommendation after two hours of deliberation so Huckabee will decide that on Friday.
The judge also will decide what will become of the 137 dogs that were seized on June 28, 2012, by the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office and the Humane Society of Pulaski County where they are still held.
Until the judge says otherwise, they still belong to the Nances, said Lonoke County deputy prosecutor Ben Hooper, who handled the case with deputy prosecutor Paula Jones.
Jones also works part time for North Little Rock prosecuting animal cases.
The Nances were represented by Jerry Sallings and Seth Jewell, both of Little Rock.
Essentially, Sandra Nance was convicted for keeping her dogs in poor conditions and not providing them with veterinary care, but not of running a puppy mill but.
She raised her puppies in kennels about 100 feet from her home and sold them at a store in Searcy.
She raised several breeds including Airedale terriers, schnauzers, Chihuahuas as well as English bulldogs which she said could sell for as much as $3,500 each.
The prosecution brought in veterinarians who testified to the poor conditions in which the dogs were kept and to their deteriorated health from lack of proper medical care.
Sandra Nance’s defense was that she was able to provide proper care herself.
Cruelty to animals is a misdemeanor. Nance could be fined from $150 to $1,000 for each conviction and be sentenced to one day to one year of community service or one day to one year in jail.
A spokesman for the Humane Society said the dogs will be adopted if the judge gives his approval.
ORIGINAL STORY
On June 26, 2012, an anonymous caller notified employees at the Pulaski County Humane Society (PCHS) that there were dogs at a location on Sentell Loop in Austin that were housed in the sun, with no access to shade, and in excessively hot temperatures. PCHS referred the caller to the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office.
An employee of Cabot Animal Services then contacted PCHS and stated that
someone had also called there about the condition of some animals at that same location. Kay Simpson, Director of PCHS and also a certified cruelty investigator, asked her board president, Christine Henderson, to drive by the location and check on the dogs. After Henderson expressed some concern, a decision was made that Simpson and Dr. Teresa Medlock, a PCHS veterinarian, would go to the property to see if they could offer the owners any assistance with the dogs.
Two days later, Simpson, Henderson, her husband Jack Henderson, and Dr. Medlock traveled to the Nance property. While en route, Simpson contacted the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office for assistance, and Sgt. Dennis Sanderson was dispatched to assist the group.
Simpson also contacted Nance and asked her to meet them at her property. At that time, Nance was working in a store she owned, “Smoochie Poochies,” located in Searcy, where she sold puppies and dogs from her kennel.
When Nance arrived, Simpson told her about the calls they had received and asked Nance if they could walk through the kennel. Nance agreed and during the walk-through, Simpson noticed that many of the cloths used to provide shade for the dogs were tattered, shredded, and hanging down in the cages.
She also noticed some large fans through the area that were not working, and one working fan that was tilted upward. When asked, Nance stated that the fans had stopped working a couple of days prior. Simpson also noticed a misting system that was not spraying the dogs.
Simpson also noticed that while some of the dogs had clean water bowls, others had pale-green-tinted water or dark green, blackish water.
While investigating, Simpson and Dr. Medlock both noticed that a lot of the dogs
were panting but were not barking much, and others were lying in holes they had dug to stay cool (The temperature that day reached 110 degrees). The women also noticed that a large number of the dogs were “brachycephalic dogs,” meaning they have smaller snouts and have a harder time breathing in extreme heat or cold. They also noticed that some dogs had extremely matted fur, which added to the dogs’ heat stress. Simpson and Dr. Medlock both expressed concern about the dogs’ well-being and thought it was best to remove the dogs from the property.
As a result, Sergeant Sanderson contacted the Lonoke County prosecutor, who then came to the Nance property. After seeing the dogs and the conditions of the kennel, the prosecutor authorized PCHS to seize all the dogs on the property.
Nance was charged by information in the Lonoke County Circuit Court with three
Felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, in violation of Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-62-104, and ten Misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals, in violation of Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-62-103.
The jury found Nance guilty of five misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. After the jury was unable to agree on sentencing, the circuit court dismissed the jury and scheduled a hearing to take up the issue of sentencing. On March 29, 2013, the court held a sentencing hearing and sentenced Nance to 100 hours of community service at an animal shelter and payment of a $500 fine; both to be completed within sixty days from entry of the court’s order. A written order reflecting the bench ruling was filed of record on June 6, 2013.
The court ordered Nance to pay costs to PCHS of $6,425; divesting Nance of custody of the five dogs that she had been convicted of abusing; and ordering the return of the remaining dogs once Nance complied with the court’s orders.
From the media stories, the return of the other dogs came about because the prosecutor did not address it during trial. Also, the judge randomly selected 13 out of 160+ dogs to be included in trial so the jurors never got to see/hear about the other 150 dogs involved in the seizure.
Sandy Nance has now become a vocal online advocate for fringe groups such as the Calvary Group, has started her own Facebook page called Animal Owners Under Fire, in which she and others post stories of animal cruelty cases and look for every reason to dismiss the accusations ("The don't look skinny to me", "The shelter just needs more animals to sell so they stole these!", etc.). When a person is found guilty, they make excuses about corruption, etc.
(Arkansas Leader - March 27, 2013)
