The finding is in the case of Jean Wess Hansen, 72, who faces once count of abandonment or cruelty to 10 of more animals. The charge was filed after authorities seized 38 Shetland sheepdogs from her West Pine River Road home in July.
Hansen has forfeited the animals, which went on to give birth to puppies after they were seized, bringing the total of 68 dogs.
“She cannot meaningfully assist her own attorney in her defense,” Midland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Erik S.H. Wallen said.
Hansen’s attorney, Philip R. Sturtz of Saginaw, requested that his client be evaluated for competency due to her inability to stay on track and answer questions about the case. In the motion, Sturtz stated Hansen is paranoid, distrustful, has extreme difficulty in communication, and her statements border on the irrational and unbelievable. He also wrote she jumps from topic to topic, does not understand court procedures and is not capable of assisting him to evaluate the testimony of witnesses in the case.
Midland County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Beale previously ordered Hansen be sent to the Center for Forensic Psychiatry for evaluations on competency and criminal responsibility, which were conducted on Nov. 7. The doctor who saw Hansen is optimistic that she could regain competency with intensive treatment.
Wallen said the case will be set for a status conference in two weeks, during which time the next step in the case will be decided. That next step could include an order for Hansen to undergo treatment.
The case was bound over to the circuit court after a preliminary exam in September, during which Midland County Animal Control Deputy Rick Shields and Dr. Janet Sherwood, a veterinarian at Midland Animal Clinic, were called as witnesses.
Shields testified he received calls from veterinarians in other counties and an animal control official from another county where Hansen had been watched due to concerns about unhealthy, malnourished and injured animals. Shields and others from the sheriff’s office went to Hansen’s home on July 3 to conduct a search warrant, seized the animals and recorded what they saw.
Wallen presented the photos and some videos depicting the conditions inside Hansen’s mobile home, including a 2-inch thick layer of fecal material covering the floors, urine and fecal material on furniture and tracked up the walls, as well as garbage bags of trash and the carcasses of two dead Shelties.
Sherwood said dogs are rated on a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 signifying emaciated and 9 overweight. All the dogs at the scene were scored between 1 and 3.
The charge is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, a $5,000 fine, up to 500 hours of community service, or any combination of penalties
(Midland Daily News-Nov 27, 2013)
Earlier:
No comments:
Post a Comment