Arizona: Billy Krantz arrested for animal cruelty after his horses found to be starving

ARIZONA -- A man faces animal cruelty charges after emaciated and mistreated horses were found at his home in New River, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

A deputy with the MCSO animal crimes unit responded to Billy James Krantz's home near New River Road and 19th Avenue on June 9 and found three severely malnourished horses standing in a pen.

One was severely emaciated to the point where its ribs, hip bones and spine were visibly showing, according to court documents.

Krantz, 34, acknowledged that he owned the horses and said that he traded a refrigerator for one of them, the documents stated.

The deputy said Krantz agreed that the horses didn't look good and said that he could not afford to feed or care for them. He also told the deputy that he recently had gotten arrested for domestic violence and was trying to get his kids back.

The sheriff's office said Krantz surrendered the horses and they were transported to a veterinary clinic for examination. The severely emaciated horse described in court documents as a 10-year-old quarter horse/thoroughbred mare was euthanized a couple of days later.

The other two horses was suffering from medical conditions that went untreated. One of them was heavily impacted with sand and was malnourished. The other horse had front hooves that were very long, causing it discomfort.

Both are still under close supervision of a veterinarian and their fates remain uncertain.

Krantz was arrested Monday and booked into Fourth Avenue Jail.

He was charged with one count of cruel mistreatment with serious physical injury, a felony; two counts of failure to provide medical treatment, a misdemeanor; and one count of cruel neglect, a misdemeanor.

His bond was set at $2,500.

(CBS5AZ - June 16, 2016)