Mississippi: Bonnie Heffron accused of cruelty, neglect must pay or lose animals

MISSISSIPPI -- The Kiln woman accused of neglect after officials seized more than 50 animals from her home was set to appear in court Friday.

The hearing to determine if the animals can be returned to her care was postponed until next week.

The judge did decide to give Bonnie Heffron three days to pay a $1,000 bond for the car and maintenance of the animals. If she cannot pay, the animals will be awarded to the county.

  

Right now, Heffron, 64, is facing charges of animal neglect and animal cruelty after various farm animals, including ponies, goats, rabbits, dogs, and cats, were seized from her property on Dogpatch Rd. on July 13. Most of those animals are now at the Hancock County Animal Shelter.

 

  

Toni Pickering, Director of the Hancock County Animal Shelter, said the animals were living in filth when rescuers arrived.

Neighbors said the neglect has been going on for years, and they feel helpless. Many of those neighbors were in the courtroom Friday for Heffron’s appearance.

"I've seen dead horses. My granddaughter realized that a horse was dead there and she cried all the way to school," a neighbor recalled.

"I don't like seeing helpless animals left to starve. I can't imagine that anyone else would want to do this either," said Renee Cuevas.

 

 

Friday’s decision wasn’t good enough for the nearly 20 animal activists in the courtroom. Unhappy with the outcome, the activists marched over to the sheriff’s office and demanded the animals not be returned to Heffron’s care. Sheriff Ricky Adam said it's not his decision to make.

"Sadly, it's not an isolated incident to this county, because it happens all over. People, they love their animals and they just get overwhelmed with the cause of trying to care for them," said Adam.

Cuevas says there are still some animals in Heffron's care that need to be rescued from a different location.

 

"There are still 12 horses and I have personally seen the horses. They appear to be in worse shape than the horses taken from the property on Dogpatch Rd.,"said Cuevas.

Adam said it will be up to a judge to decide what happens with the other animals.

 

VIDEO NEWS CLIP:

(WLOX - July 21, 2017)

Earlier:

• Mississippi: 50+ animals seized from Kiln property owned by Bonnie Heffron; more animals inside house

Mississippi: 50+ animals seized from Kiln property owned by Bonnie Heffron; more animals inside house

MISSISSIPPI -- Authorities in Hancock County seized more than 50 farm animals from a property in the Kiln Wednesday evening after an animal control officer found the animals in poor health and living conditions on Dogpatch Road.

The animals seized include ponies, goats, rabbits, guineas, chickens, ducks, turkeys, dogs, and cats.

  

  

  

  

 

 

 

Hancock County Animal Shelter Director Toni Pickering said the animals were "living in filth." It took several hours to round up all of the animals and get them to the shelter.

Now, the malnourished animals are getting the food, water, and care they need at the Hancock County Animal Shelter and vet clinics. Shelter employees say they're now at full capacity.

"The shelter received 55 animals through animal control," said Toni Pickering, with the shelter. "Their health problems are currently being evaluated. As of right now, the animals are not up for adoption, but we will update that on the shelter Facebook page as soon as that becomes available."

  

  

  

 

 

 

Sheriff Ricky Adam said 64-year-old Bonnie Heffron has been arrested in the case. She is charged with animal neglect and animal cruelty. Her bond was set at $1,000 for each count. Adam said she bonded out of jail right after her arrest.

Pickering said there are more animals in the house, and animal control officers are working to get a warrant to go inside the house to get to those animals.

The whole situation left Hancock County residents, like Alex Davis, scratching their heads.

  

 

   

 

"50 to 60 animals. You'd think if she took on that many she'd be able to feed that many," said Davis.

Pickering said Bay St. Louis Animal Control, the Hancock County Animal Shelter, the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, and a vet tech from the Riverbend Vet Clinic all worked together to remove the animals from the property.

Authorities say this investigation is ongoing, so they can't release the specifics on the animals' conditions yet. They also said Heffron could petition the court to try to keep the animals.






 

VIDEO NEWS CLIP:

(WLOX - July 14, 2017)

UC Berkeley law grad gets boot camp in bird death

NEVADA -- A UC Berkeley lawschool graduate was sentenced Wednesday to six months in a Nevada prison "boot camp" for beheading an exotic bird in Las Vegas during a drunken escapade.

Justin Teixeira, 25, pleaded guilty in June to killing another person's animal, a felony charge, for the attack last October on a 14-year-old helmeted guinea fowl named Turk at the Flamingo Hotel.

Teixeira was taken into custody after appearing in a Las Vegas courtroom, said Frank Coumou, a Clark County chief deputy district attorney. Teixeira must spend 190 days in a military-style program of educational and physical training and manual labor.

If he completes the program and a probation term of three to five years, he can withdraw his felony plea and instead be found guilty of a misdemeanor, Coumou said.

"He is extremely remorseful for his actions he committed while heavily intoxicated," said his attorney Michael Pariente, adding his client has attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings since his arrest
"and has since not even touched alcohol."

Teixeira is among thousands of aspiring lawyers awaiting next month's California State Bar exam results.

Whether he can practice law may depend on whether the felony stays on his record. According to the state bar website, those convicted of violent felonies or felonies involving moral turpitude "are presumed not to be of good moral character in the absence of a pardon or a showing of overwhelming reform and rehabilitation."

Two other men were convicted for their roles in the case, which drew nationwide headlines.

Hazhir Kargaran, 26, who recently completed his third and final year at UC Berkeley School of Law, pleaded no contest to three misdemeanors: instigating animal cruelty, property destruction and trespassing. He was sentenced to two days in jail and 48 hours of community service.

Eric Cuellar, 25, who began his third year at the law school this fall, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of instigating animal cruelty. He got a $200 fine and 48 hours of community service.

Authorities said the three men were intoxicated when they chased the bird into trees at the hotel's wildlife habitat. "A witness then observed the suspects emerge from the trees, carrying the body and severed head of the bird," police said.

 

Video footage from the hotel and Cuellar's iPhone helped investigators, Coumou said.

"The two other individuals, I don't think, ever agreed to having this bird killed," he said. "It was just a drunk, stupid decision to go and chase the bird, and unfortunately, Teixeira took a step further on his own."

(SF Gate - Oct 16, 2013)

Earlier:

• Two Arrested in Killing of Exotic Bird