Crystal Davis and her son, Joseph McMillen, both of Pequea, were initially charged with 12 summary citations of animal cruelty after 10 horses were seized May 2 from A Life Saved is a Life Saved Equine Rescue at 35 Silver Mine Road.
Davis and McMillen were responsible for the care of the animals, according to previous media reports.
Susan Martin, then a humane society police officer, found the horses dirty and emaciated without hay, water or proper shelter, according to previous media reports.
Martin then filed the citations, charging Davis and McMillen.
In June, Davis' attorney, Justin Gearty, stated his client planned to plead not guilty and would “aggressively defend the claims of animal cruelty.”
The horses were returned to Davis and McMillen on July 29.
The charges were withdrawn on Wednesday, according to court dockets.
Martin, the executive director of the Lancaster County SPCA, relinquished her role as a humane society police officer on Aug. 17, six days after district attorney Craig Stedman held a press conference announcing he was filing a petition to suspend her powers as an officer.
A humane society police officer is an officer of the law, who must be employed by a nonprofit agency and appointed by a judge. They have powers of arrest as it pertains to animal cruelty laws.
Martin's ability to act in that capacity was called into question following her ill-advised decision to not pursue animal cruelty charges against the owner of a puppy known as Libre, a Boston Terrier suffering from demodectic mange, who was rescued July 4 in Quarryville from the breeder.
Note: Benjamin Stoltzfus was eventually charged with animal cruelty by the District Attorney's Office.
In Davis' case, Martin declined comment Friday.
The district attorney's office limited its comments to one statement, provided via email:
“Ms. Martin was an integral part of this case, being the affiant who filed charges and did the investigation. Considering her no longer having authority as an officer, we couldn’t progress with the case as it was. We did our own evaluation of the evidence and facts involved prior to the charges being withdrawn.”
So were the charges dropped because she no longer had law enforcement powers or because she was wrong in having seized the animals and charged the owners with cruelty in the first place?
The district attorney's office declined to further elaborate on the results of its own investigation.
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