Marci E. Biesheuvel, 56, of 4765 County Road 206, Carpenter, for probation violation and interference with a peace officer/resisting arrest at 10:25 a.m. Wednesday at her residence.
WYOMING -- A Carpenter woman on probation for misdemeanor animal cruelty could have that status revoked for having too many animals.
Marci Biesheuvel, 56, had her initial appearance in Laramie County Circuit Court on Thursday.
The Laramie County Sheriff’s Department arrested her Wednesday morning for violating her probation. She was arrested at her home in the 4700 block of County Road 206.
Laramie County assistant district attorney Benjamin Sherman told Circuit Judge Denise Nau that Biesheuvel had 35 dogs on her property – 31 inside her home and four outside.
The dogs outside had no food or water, Sherman said.
Four of the dogs inside Biesheuvel’s house reportedly were in kennels that had no food or water, and feces caked on the bottom of the kennels was 1 to 2 inches thick.
Multiple dogs were malnourished and had their bones showing, Sherman told the judge.
Also, 20 of the dogs did not have valid rabies tags.
Sherman told Nau that the district attorney’s office plans to charge Biesheuvel with 12 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and 20 counts of failure to show rabies tags. Those charges have not yet been filed.
Biesheuvel did not have to plead guilty for her previous crimes. Instead, she got a deferred sentence for misdemeanor animal cruelty in October 2011 after she pleaded no contest to the crime.
“No contest” literally means “I will not contest it,” but it has the same effect as a guilty plea. It cannot, however, be used as an admission in other court cases.
Even though Biesheuvel was sentenced for a misdemeanor, she was put on five years of first-offender probation. That’s because the first-offender law permits imposing that much probation in misdemeanor as well as felony cases.
By getting a deferred sentence, Biesheuvel was given a chance to keep the conviction off her record.
A month after Biesheuvel’s 2011 sentencing, the Laramie County District Attorney’s Office filed a petition to revoke her probation after a Cheyenne Animal Control officer said he saw more than four animals in her home.
Then-Circuit Judge Catherine Rogers denied the petition during a probation violation hearing in January 2012.
As part of Biesheuvel’s plea agreement, she was ordered to comply with all Cheyenne ordinances pertaining to animals, even though she lives in the county.
That means she can’t have more than four animals in her home at any given time, including dogs and cats.
The order does not limit the number of animals she can have on her property.
Sherman said in court Thursday that numerous other animals were found on Biesheuvel’s property when the dogs were seized, including five goats and a yak.
(Wyoming Tribune - Feb 26, 2016)
Earlier:
- Wyoming: Authorities seize more than 100 animals from Marci Biesheuvel who operated a "rescue" called Litl' Bit of Love Animal Rescue and Sanctuary
- Wyoming pet laws have no bark, no bite
- Wyoming: "No-kill" shelter owner Marci Biesheuvel defends herself
- Wyoming: Marci Biesheuvel, operator of Litl' Bit of Love Animal Rescue and Sanctuary, raided again by authorities
- Wyoming: Marci Biesheuvel is charged again on animal cruelty charges
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