“I thought the old man might have died,” said Lacombe resident Robert “Redhead” Malanders, of Donald Francis, who lives at the property where sheriff’s office vehicles were parked.
According to St. Tammany Sherriff’s Office Sgt. Sean Beavers, Francis, 70, along with 36-year-old Becky Francis, were both arrested last Sunday and charged with 41 counts of cruelty to animals.
Donald Francis’ residence at 29110 Berry Todd Road, Lacombe, is heavily shaded by overgrown grass and hanging pine trees, but neighbors close by began to become concerned when they noticed several horses looking malnourished and possibly injured, said Beavers.
Around 4:30 p.m. last Saturday deputies paid a visit to Francis’ property and knocked on the front door. No one answered, but deputies did observe the scene.
“He noticed the horses were in poor health and that there were also other animals,” said Beavers.
St. Tammany Parish spokeswoman Suzanne Parsons said altogether there were 44 animals recovered from the property by the St. Tammany Department of Animal Services, including 17 horses, 10 dogs, two rabbits, seven cats, seven chickens and one duck.
“We removed them at the request of the sheriffs office who has the report of suspected animal cruelty, and beyond that it’s a criminal investigation,” said Parsons. “At this time we are reviewing the health of the animals, and if any of them need treatment, they will get it.”
Beavers said the charges came in based on what was provided to them through the Department of Animal Services. The sheriff’s office didn’t conduct a study on the animals, which is standard procedure in this type of case, he said.
“Man, he must have had something going on back there,” said Malanders, who said he had no idea Donald Francis had 44 animals on the property.
According to the sheriff’s office, Francis had a white house on the property along with a camper trailer, which is thought to be the place Francis lived.
“He built that house, and I don’t think he ever lived in it,” said Malanders of Francis.
Malanders also said Francis “usually kept to himself” and that he’d never actually had a conversation with the man, just friendly gestures and waves while driving down Berry Todd Road.
Malanders said his wife had mentioned she saw Francis doing yard work around his home on Friday, and next thing he knew multiple police cars showed up in the days following.
Parsons said the owners of the animals were given 15 days following notice to come up with funding to care for the animals for 30 days or else the parish would find them new homes.
(St. Tammany News - June 24, 2012)
