Woman convicted of animal abuse

CALIFORNIA -- A Solano County Superior Court jury on Tuesday convicted a woman of a felony animal cruelty charge after she was seen dropping, kicking and feeding a newborn lamb beer outside of a Vacaville restaurant earlier this year.

After a two day trial, Lillian Wohn, 23, was found guilty of the felony charge related to her abuse of the baby lamb on May 11 outside of Burger City on Elmira Road.

 

A restaurant patron testified that Wohn was seen with the baby Barbados lamb in her arms and calling it her "baby" before dropping it on the ground.

Kristy Fergen testified that she stepped outside the restaurant when someone told her there was a woman with a baby goat outside.

"I asked her why she had a baby goat," Fergen testified. "She said it was her baby, at first," she added.Fergen testified that Wohn then dropped the animal on the ground from 2 to 3 feet in the air, causing it to cry out.

"It was just too weak to stand up," Fergen testified.

The lamb bleated and then urinated after Wohn nudged it with her foot before picking it up by its front paws, hoisting it into the air and then re-cradling it in her arms, according to Fergin.

"It didn't move, so that's when she kicked it," she added.

Wohn also briefly tried to feed her lamb some beer from a Budweiser can she had in a purse before the attention made her skittish and she gathered up her bags and her lamb and quickly walked off, tossing the lamb into some nearby bushes, Fergin testified.

Fergen testified that she tried to get the baby animal away from Wohn but was unsuccessful. Wohn then hurried off with the lamb and bags containing her belongings.

According to testimony, that's when police showed up and took a combative Wohn into custody and turned the lamb over to an officer with Humane Animal Services.

Ilsi Medearis, chief veterinarian at the Solano-Napa Pet Emergency Clinic, testified that she treated the animal, but observed no external injuries. After a two-night stay, the baby lamb, which still had a part of its umbilical cord attached, was released back to animal control officers.

Wohn's defense counsel argued that because the animal had no apparent injuries, she should be found not guilty.

However, prosecuting Deputy District Attorney Natasha Jontulovich called the defense argument "bogus" and argued that she needed only prove that Wohn's actions caused danger to the animal.

"She abused that animal plain and simple," Jontulovich said.

Wohn was ordered back to court at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 23 for sentencing. She remains in Solano County Jail without bail.

(The Reporter - Nov 27, 2013)