“I felt we did not have enough evidence to take what was left of the case to a jury,” said Robertson County Assistant District Attorney Dent Morriss. “So, I reluctantly dismissed it. At least we were able to get the animals that were there out of the situation they were in.”
The case was dismissed Friday, Sept. 27.
Krisle, 55, was charged with eight counts of animal cruelty in February. His original indictment, handed down by the Robertson County Grand Jury, claims that he failed to provide needed food and water, along with proper shelter and care for eight animals – seven horses and one mule. Documents also describe the mule as having an injured leg with wire wrapped around it.
When contacted by phone last week, Krisle insisted that he was innocent of the charges, saying that he bought the animals in the conditions described in the indictment.
“I knew I was going to win even if I went to court,” he said. “I had done nothing wrong. I just got accused and my name smeared through the mud.”
At an August court hearing, Robertson County Judge Michael R. Jones ordered that evidence collected during a search of Krisle's property could not be used in trial because the search warrant was not valid, according to court documents.
The warrant was thrown out because an employee of the Humane Society of the United States signed it, but the employee was not authorized to do so, according to Krisle.
[According to online postings, the local police - who know that search warrants have to be sworn to and executed by a certified law enforcement officer - stood by and let the humane society representative go in and swear to the warrant in front of a judge.]
The rules of criminal procedure require that search warrant applications be made by law enforcement officers.
Krisle went on to say that the eight animals cited in the indictment were pulled from a group of 29. They were all purchased within six weeks of the search, he said.
[According to online posts, this is a lie. He owned these horse for FOUR MONTHS.]
“I am a licensed livestock dealer,” he said. “What condition I buy (animals) in has nothing to do with me. If the district attorney wants to charge someone, they need to look at the people who sold these animals to me.”
The animals seized during the search of Krisle’s property were turned over to Horse Haven of Tennessee in Knoxville, an equine rescue facility.
Last month, Horse Haven's Executive Director Nina Margetson said the mule had to be put down at the time of pick up. One other horse from the case also died about a week after the animals were placed into her organization's care, she said.
"The other six have since been adopted out," she added.
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s criminal history report, Krisle has four felony convictions and numerous misdemeanor arrests dating back to 1981.
He has been convicted of two counts of theft of livestock out of Robertson County as well as one count of theft over $10,000 and one count of theft over $1,000 in Sumner County, records show.
(The Tennesseean - Oct 8, 2013)
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