Judge Daniel Hall sentenced Westberry to four years in prison Thursday, but suspended that to four years probation, provided she does not break other laws, continues treatment, and does not have any animals. The sentence came after Westberry agreed to plead guilty to ill treatment of animals and a breach of trust.
Did they even bother to charge her per animal? If so, she should have been facing 69 YEARS IN PRISON! Sixty-nine animals suffered. Thirty-seven of those animals suffered until they died. Meanwhile, she was taking in money from her Paypal donation site and spending the money on herself!
Westberry, 47, was charged in June 2014 after Belton police removed 69 cats from a home on Anderson Road. Of those, 37 cats were already dead.
Westberry ran a rescue group called J’s Kitten Cottage. Conning people into donation money for her 'rescue', she took the money and spent it on herself, moved out, and abandoned the cats to die.
Another 32 were taken to Anderson County’s animal shelter, Pets Are Worth Saving. Two of those cats died shortly after getting to the shelter because their medical conditions were untreatable, shelter Director Jessica Cwynar said.
“There was nothing we could do, and we would not have been able to do anything to help those two even if we had been a high-dollar vet clinic,” Cwynar said Friday. “They were too far gone. The rest we were able to get into rescues, but seeing the living and the deceased in that kind of shape was very hard.”
The cats were discovered shortly after someone went to Westberry’s home to ask about buying some furniture. The person noticed swarming flies, a strong odor, and got no response to a knock on the door, said Chrissy Adams, 10th Judicial Circuit solicitor. The person called police, who then contacted Westberry. Westberry told them she was out of town, and that only cats should be in the home. When officers went inside, they found “just the most deplorable conditions you can imagine,” Belton Police Chief Tommy Clamp said.
Adams said that when Westberry was questioned by officers, she told them she had been operating a cat rescue, had “personal issues” and became overwhelmed by the large number of animals.
Westberry found herself unable to care for them, and decided to abandon both the cats and the residence, (her attorney) said in a prepared statement.
Westberry could not be reached Friday. Her attorney, Scott Thomason, spoke briefly.
“This is a tragic case for all involved,” he said.
Westberry is a former volunteer with the Anderson County Humane Society. Wanda Crane, the director of the Anderson County Humane Society, said in a previous interview that Westberry also operated a private cat rescue that was not connected to Crane’s organization. That rescue was called J’s Kitten Cottage.
Several months after the cats were seized from her home, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division announced that Westberry had been charged with a breach of trust with fraudulent intent.
According to an arrest warrant, Westberry received $21,505 in a PayPal account during a yearlong period that ended in June. The money was given to her so she could provide foster homes, food and medical treatment and set up adoptions for cats, according to the warrant.
Of that money, Westberry debited about $11,300 for her personal use, according to the warrant.
(Independent Mail - Oct 16, 2015)
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