Velva Jean Wainscott, who was charged with animal cruelty of more than 10 horses in October, declined additional comment following the hearing, which lasted less than five minutes.
Judge Michael P. Hatty dismissed the charges based on evidence presented at a civil trial in District Court that ended with Judge Carol Sue Reader ordering Wainscott’s 12 seized horses be returned to her custody.
He granted her motion to dismiss the charge, and later recalled the court to clarify that he was dismissing the charge with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be brought forward again.
Hatty’s dismissal of the case was based on the legal concept known as “crossover estoppel,” which denotes a situation where an issue adjudicated in a civil proceeding is claimed to be precluded in a subsequent criminal proceeding and vice versa.
Livingston County Animal Control officers seized Wainscott’s 12 horses from her home on Byron Road in September after receiving complaints she had allegedly neglected the animals. Animal Control officers testified at an earlier hearing that some of the horses had bad teeth, which caused them to not eat right, and all but one horse had worms.
Livingston County Animal Control officers seized Wainscott’s 12 horses from her home on Byron Road in September after receiving complaints she had allegedly neglected the animals. Animal Control officers testified at an earlier hearing that some of the horses had bad teeth, which caused them to not eat right, and all but one horse had worms.
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| Judge Hatty and Velva, please explain this... |
Officials alleged Wainscott failed to have her horses vaccinated even though she had signed an agreement with Animal Control to complete those tasks. They also alleged that she did not provide adequate food and water sources for the horses.
Debbie Oberle, Animal Control director, testified at an earlier hearing that her office has received 77 complaints against Wainscott since 1999. She said the complaints were made by at least 30 different people, including passers-by who called 911.
Wainscott has steadfastly denied neglecting her horses.
[Court records indicate Wainscott pleaded guilty in 2003 to a misdemeanor count of allowing animals to be at large as part of a plea agreement. She was initially charged with animal abandonment and cruelty.
A jury trial on the original charges ended with a hung jury. But the next year she was found guilty of violating her probation after authorities said she had failed to seek proper care of a horse with a broken leg.]
(WHMI - July 12, 2013)
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