A justice signed a warrant filed by the District Attorney's Office, according to Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins, allowing Animal Welfare Department and law enforcement personnel to enter the home of Carol Murphy, of 248 Lane Road in New Sharon, and search for animals.
Dogs, a pot-bellied pig, chinchillas, a rabbit and a cat were taken from the home of Murphy, who is prohibited by court order from possessing animals.
The DA's Office had received pictures, video and reports submitted by neighbors and a television news station that indicated that Murphy was in possession of one or more dogs.
Murphy was first barred from possessing animals in 2005, after she was convicted of animal cruelty due to the poor condition of more than 50 pets. More serious convictions followed in March 2010, due to a 2009 incident in which Murphy used a taser on a Maine State Trooper serving a warrant for unpaid fines.
Following her arrest in 2009, state police contacted Maine Department of Agriculture's Animal Welfare Program which removed more than 40 animals, ranging from dogs and cats to birds to a miniature donkey and pot-bellied pig. Several farm animals, such as ducks, chickens and alpacas, were also found on the property.
During the trial, Murphy exhibited sometimes bizarre behavior, informing the jury they had no jurisdiction to convict her due to federal lawsuits she had filed in Boston and often clashing with the presiding judge.
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This culminated in Murphy refusing to attend roughly half of the trial, with the jury handing down convictions of felony assault on an officer as well as refusing to submit to arrest or detention, criminal use of an electronic weapon, and two counts of cruelty to animals, all misdemeanors, to an empty defendant's chair.
Presiding Justice Michaela Murphy, no relation, sentenced Carol Murphy to four years in prison, issued another order forbidding the possession or ownership of animals for life and held the New Sharon woman in contempt for statements made during the trial.
According to a letter written by Robbins on Aug. 7, the DA's Office was recently contacted by Animal Control Officer Wayne Atwood, who provided a picture taken by a neighbor of Murphy that purportedly showed her walking down the street carrying a small kennel with an animal inside.
Additionally, Fox News 7 media aired a report after attempting to interview Murphy on Aug. 5. In the interview, dogs can allegedly be heard barking inside Murphy's home. Fox News 7 spoke with another neighbor that complained of Murphy's dogs running lose on his property.
Wednesday, officials removed four dogs, a cat, a pig, a rabbit and chinchillas from the home, according to Robbins. Two other cats escaped during the search and could not be captured. Animals taken from the home are currently at Franklin County Animal Shelter. According to Robbins, the ownership of those animals will be one of the first things the state wants to settle.
Murphy was issued a summons for contempt of court, relating to her alleged violation of the court order prohibiting ownership of animals. Her next scheduled court date is Oct. 8.
(Daily Bulldog - Oct 2, 2014)
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