Vermont: Quinton Clayton, 21, accused of killing horse with bow, arrow free on bail

VERMONT -- A Granite City man accused of killing Bunny the horse with a stolen bow is now out on conditions of release after posting $10,000 bail.

Quinton Clayton, 21, is facing a felony count of unlawful mischief, a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals resulting in a fatality and a misdemeanor count of petit larceny. If convicted, Clayton faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Oct. 27.

After posting bail, a hearing was held in Washington County criminal court Friday in a packed courtroom where Clayton’s conditions of release were set, including that he be released to Sasha Pellerin and Victoria Stauff. Court records don’t indicate Pellerin or Stauff’s relationship with Clayton.

Bunny the horse with her family before she was killed

He was also ordered to obey a 24-hour curfew and can’t leave Washington County without permission from the court. Clayton has to report to the Barre City police department on Monday, Wednesday and Friday by 11 a.m.

He also can’t drink alcohol, can’t have any guns or dangerous weapons and can’t have or use a regulated drug without a valid prescription.

The drug condition was put in place because court records show on Sept. 29, nearly a week before Bunny died, Clayton was found unconscious on the railroad tracks between Cumberland Farms and Allen Lumber in Barre with a syringe sticking out of his arm. Police say he was found face down and was having trouble breathing.

Police say he was given Narcan, regained consciousness and admitted to using heroin.

According to the affidavit concerning the horse killing, written by Officer Nicholas J. Alden of the Barre City police, on Oct. 5 Clayton shot Bunny, a quarter horse valued at $7,000 and owned by Regan Howard, with a bow and arrows that he had stolen from a vehicle at the Highgate Apartments.

Alden said he received a report from a witness that Clayton and another man were on Prospect Street, where Bunny was shot, on the day of the incident, and they were going to “shoot a house or a horse.” He said he received a tip that the bow was at a residence on Granite Street.

Alden said he went to the residence and was given permission to search the rooms by a woman who lived there. He said he found the bow in a closet.

Alden said he received a report from a woman saying she had let Clayton use her cellphone and when she got it back he was still logged onto Facebook. The woman told Alden that she saw messages Clayton had sent to three other people and the horse was mentioned.

Screen shots of the messages were included in court records. In one of the messages, someone is talking to Clayton about the items stolen, including the bow, and how they can sell them. He’s also called a horse killer in the message.

News of Bunny’s death quickly made the rounds on social media. Howard, Bunny’s owner, had posted on Facebook that there was a reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever killed the horse.

In one of the Facebook messages, Clayton was sent a screen shot of the reward announcement and replied, “Yo don’t be telling anyone I did that.”

He was sent the announcement by someone else on Facebook and responded with, “Yo I know lol” and “haha buuuuuuny nooooooo lol.” [making fun of Bunny the horse that he shot and killed]

(Times Argus - Nov 8, 2016)

Earlier:

• Vermont: Quinton Clayton, 21, charged with killing horse by shooting it with arrow

Vermont: Quinton Clayton, 20, charged with killing horse by shooting it with arrow

VERMONT -- A local man accused of fatally wounding a quarter horse with a stolen bow and arrow earlier this month pleaded not guilty Thursday to criminal charges stemming from what prosecutors described as a “horse slaying.”

Hours after his arrest early Thursday afternoon, Quinton Clayton, 20, was arraigned on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and petty larceny — both misdemeanors — as well as a felony charge of unlawful mischief.

Clayton’s arrest and unscheduled arraignment at the criminal courthouse in Barre capped a near month-long investigation into a bizarre case that outraged animal activists and claimed the life of a beloved horse, Bunny, on Oct. 5 in Barre.

Police described the killing, which occurred in a Prospect Street pasture owned by Larry and Silvia Lozier, as purposeful at the time. That view was reiterated by Deputy States Attorney Rory Thibault during Thursday’s brief hearing and reflected in court documents.

Though the incident occurred during archery season for deer, moose and turkey, Thibault suggested it was intentional, not accidental. Records suggest Clayton used a stolen bow to intentionally slaughter a horse.

“This was the senseless killing of an animal,” Thibault said, defending his request that Clayton be held on $25,000 cash bail for fear he might flee the state.

Despite three missed court dates — including two this month — Clayton’s court-appointed lawyer, Maggie Vincent, argued against any monetary bail given Clayton’s ties to the community.

Judge John Pacht split the difference.

Pacht acknowledged the seriousness of the crime that left a horse dead, its owner, Regan Howard, emotionally wounded, and the community scarred.

“As a community we are horrified by allegations such as this,” he said, suggesting the case may highlight the need for the Legislature to revisit the statutory penalties for cruelty to animals, which currently include a fine of up to $1,000, a jail term of up to one year, or both.

The judge said that seemed inadequate. But he indicated Thibault’s bail request was inflated by emotion and Vincent’s client-friendly counter ignored a recent record of Clayton’s failure to appear for hearings. Those were for unrelated charges including leaving the scene of an accident, selling drugs to a minor and violations of his conditions of release.

“We do have a history of Mr. Clayton not showing up,” Pacht said, noting one of the charges he now faces is a felony.

He set Clayton’s bail at $10,000 while imposing most of the conditions of release requested by the prosecutor in the event he is able to post it.

Among other things, those conditions include a 24-hour curfew, a prohibition on the use of regulated drugs without a prescription, and a requirement that he report to the Barre City Police Department three times a week.

Pacht deferred a decision on a condition requested by Thibault that Clayton be released only to a “responsible adult” if he is able to make bail.

Vincent argued that amounted to holding Clayton without bail because he had “no such person” to fill that role.

Pacht chose not to decide at this time, suggesting instead that if Clayton is able to post bail, he must return to court to discuss where he will stay before he is actually released.

Barre Mayor Thomas Lauzon and Public Safety Director Tim Bombardier were on hand for the late afternoon arraignment, as were Howard and the Loziers.

Court documents indicate the arrow used to kill the Howard’s horse was among several items — including a compound bow — reported stolen on Oct. 5 from vehicles owned by Corey Maloney and his girlfriend, Rebecca Laplant.

They also show that Clayton emerged as a suspect very early on and the bow was seized as evidence two days after it was taken.

According to court records, police conducted a number of interviews and collected information involving social media posts about the slain horse and text messages that refer to the incident and the stolen items.

Records show two of those conversations occurred Wednesday — arming police with the electronic and anecdotal information they needed to arrest Clayton.

(Times Argus - Oct 28, 2016)

Florida: Horse named Mercy freed from septic tank by rescue workers

FLORIDA -- Officials say animal rescue workers have freed a horse that fell into a septic tank hole in central Florida.

Local media outlets report that Mercy, a 24-year-old quarter horse, fell through the tank's fiberglass cover Tuesday morning behind a home in Bunnell.

 

Rescuers workers from Flagler and St. Johns counties spent about three-and-and-half hours working to free her.

Jennifer Lockwood, a lead veterinarian at Shelton Veterinary Clinic, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal that Mercy sustained minor cuts and scrapes on her left shoulder and knee.

 

Lockwood said she will prescribe pain medications and antibiotics to help with the wounds, but expects the horse to fully recover.

(WBTV - Sept 22, 2016)

Three teens charged after family horse shot and euthanized

SOUTH CAROLINA -- Three teen boys are accused of shooting a horse, according to the Chester County Sheriff's Office. The owners of the horse had to euthanize the quarter horse because of the injuries he sustained.

The boys are reportedly all 16-year-old's from Chester, and according to deputies, they used a rifle to shoot a family's horse on Saturday, July 18.

  

 

Last weekend, Janice Moore was inside her home along Pressley Road when she heard a gunshot outside, according to the Chester County Sheriff’s Office.

Moore found the 13-year-old gray horse, appropriately named Grey, lying in their pasture with a small bullet hole in its front, left shoulder, reports say.

Moore said she called her husband who came home and called a veterinarian to come help the horse. When deputies arrived, they said they could not find any shell casings.

Shortly after, the Moore's decided to euthanize Grey. “We are really hurting,” a family member said. “This horse was like family.”

  

  

According to the Moore's, another horse, who lived in the pasture with Grey, was moved for safety.

The three teens have been charged with malicious injury to property.

What about cruelty to animals???

(WBTV - July 24, 2015)

MCSO: New River man, Billy James Krantz, is facing animal cruelty charges

ARIZONA -- A New River man is accused of animal cruelty after authorities say three emaciated horses were found at his home.

Maricopa County Sheriff's officials say their animal crimes unit went to Billy James Krantz's home on June 9 and found three severely malnourished horses in a pen.

  

 

They say one horse was severely emaciated to the point where its ribs, hip bones and spine were showing.

The 34-year-old Krantz surrendered the horses, which were transported to a veterinary clinic for examination.

 

One severely emaciated horse described in court documents as a 10-year-old quarter horse / thoroughbred mare has been euthanized.

The other two horses remain under a veterinarian's supervision.

Krantz was arrested Monday and his bond was set at $2,500 during his initial court appearance Tuesday. He doesn't have a lawyer yet.

(Arizona Daily Sun - June 16, 2015)

10 Horses Rescued From Field in Southwest Miami-Dade

FLORIDA -- A group of 10 horses found lame and crippled with only rotten food to eat were rescued from a field in southwest Miami-Dade Thursday.

The horses, an Arabian stallion, two Paso Finos, two Paints and five Quarter Horses, were found in area called "The 8.5" in the 24600 block of Southwest 167th Avenue in Homestead, according to the South Florida SPCA.

 

 

 

 

The horses had only rotten tomatoes, lettuce, corn cobs and avocados mixed with packets of ketchup and mustard and other unidentifiable food waste to survive on, the SPCA said.

When rescuers arrived, the stench was so bad, buzzards were circling the containers of rotten food.

 



Most of the horses were lame or crippled, the SPCA said.

All of the horses were given proper food, clean water and safe shelter and will be evaluated by an SPCA veterinarian.

 

The owner of the horses is unknown.

Earlier this week, 21 emaciated horses were rescued from a ranch in Davie after they were found living in deplorable conditions.

(NBC Miami - Jan 17, 2014)

Massachusetts: Despite her horse being attacked by pit bulls, Michele Dembowski feels the need to tell us she has "no problems with pit bulls at all". Wonder how the horse feels about it?

MASSACHUSETTS -- Michele Dembowski is warning the public to be on the lookout for a potentially dangerous pit bull that she says viciously attacked her horse last week on an Ashby trail.

On Saturday, Dembowski was out for an afternoon ride on Jessie, her 20-year-old palomino quarter horse, when she came upon two unleashed pit bulls on Valley Road, a dirt trail that is closed to vehicles.

Dembowski described one of the dogs as plump and white and the other as small and chestnut-colored. The dogs' handlers, whom Dembowski described as a white man and a woman in their late 20s, were nearby.

As the horse galloped toward the dogs, the smaller of the two canines suddenly "made a beeline" toward the horse and leaped in the air, clamping its jaws on the much larger animal's neck, said Dembowski.

"The horse starts kicking its feet out, like a bucking bronco, trying to fight the dog off of her," said Dembowski. "All I'm thinking is, if I fall off I'm screwed."

Dembowski said she was "holding on for dear life" and likely would have been thrown from the horse if it weren't for the horn on her western saddle.

The dog fell beneath the horse, but did not let up. Dembowski said the dog bit the horse's "loin area" before Dembowski was able to get away.

She said the dog's handler ran over, apologizing. Fearing for her safety, Dembowski quickly rode off on her wounded animal.

"All I could think about was to get away from the situation before it got worse," said Dembowski, who came across a home about two miles away.

"I just started yelling," she said. "A couple of boys came out. I said I was attacked by a pit bull."

The boys called the police and Dembowski's husband, John. A friend, who owns a horse trailer, came by and transported Jessie back to Dembowski's home where the horse was treated for its injuries.

"There was a deep wound to the neck," said Dembowski. "She was bit in the loin area."

The horse's mane was saturated in blood, she said.

Dembowski has owned the horse for five years. She also keeps chickens, goats and rabbits in her backyard barn.

The following Monday, a veterinarian treated the horse with an antibiotic. Stitches were not required. The treatment cost $200, said Dembowski.

APOLOGIST

Dembowski said she has "no problems with pit bulls at all," and used to work with the breed regularly at her sister's pet-care business.

"But if you don't know what you're doing, you shouldn't own one," she said.

Local police referred the case to Animal Control Officer Mary Letourneau, said Dembowski.

"She said if they were to catch the people it would be a $25 fine for the dogs being off leash," said Dembowski.

Letourneau did not return a call seeking comment.

Dembowski hung up a sign at the site of the attack to notify the public what happened. She hopes the dog's owners see it.

"Maybe the people would feel bad and see the story and get in touch," she said.

[Yeah, I wouldn't count on that...]

(Sentinel and Enterprise - Oct 5, 2013)

Felony charges dismissed

NORTH CAROLINA -- Prosecutors volunteered to dismiss a case against a Manson man charged with felony starvation of a horse this week in Vance County Superior Court.

Justice J. Mahoney, 45, benefited from protection afforded by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Mahoney had been free on $2,500 bond since early July, shortly after his arrest in connection with the July 5 discovery of an 8-year-old chestnut-colored gelding quarter horse that was found with its entire body inside a watering trough.

Assistant District Attorney Allison Capps said that Vance County Animal Control officers learned of the horse’s demise from an informant, but they did not obtain a warrant to search the Mahoney property at 1497 County Line Road.

“They had to go onto private property to find it,” Capps said. “They did not have a search warrant or an exception. That requirement extends to animal control officers as well as any other officers.”

The dismissal form filed by Capps ordered the recall of all, if any, outstanding orders for arrest, freeing Mahoney of all consequence in the case as a matter of law.

Capps said that she does not believe the case reflects badly on the vast majority of the work being done by animal control.

“Animal control does a great job with what they do, but in that case we just didn’t have it,” Capps said.

An anonymous tip alerted animal control officers. Alex Hargrove, an animal control officer at the time, had been subpoenaed to testify in the case. He said the horse had died in a trough designed to hold an estimated 100 to 200 gallons of water. He said his impression was the horse suffered neglect before drowning, tethered to a pickup.

Mahoney had been charged with “intentional deprivation of necessary sustenance” over a timeframe from June 25 to July 5, “killing (the) horse that he owned.”

(Daily Dispatch - Feb. 28, 2013)

Salem woman sentenced to two years in prison on neglected animal charges

OREGON -- A Salem woman who had 16 neglected horses seized from her farm last year has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Gabriel Elle Denison Buckner, 53, was also sentenced in Marion County Circuit Court on Friday to five years of probation and also cannot own another animal for five years. She was found guilty of animal abuse charges on April 26.

Buckner was arrested in May 2011 after Marion County Sheriff's deputies seized 16 emaciated horses following an investigation of her ranch on Skyline Road. The horses have since been nursed back to health.

Before and after photos of one of the horses seized

When Buckner was arrested, she was on probation in Deschutes County for a previous conviction stemming from eight neglected horses.

She was also involved in a 1998 Deschutes County investigation involving several malnourished cats and dogs.

(The Oregonian - May 04, 2012)

Earlier:

• Marion County Sheriffs arrest woman for neglecting 16 horses

Marion County Sheriffs arrest woman for neglecting 16 horses

OREGON -- A Salem woman is being held in Marion County Jail on $20,000 bail after deputies found 16 skinny, ill and neglected horses on her property in the 6800 block of Skyline Road South earlier this week.

Gabriel Elle Buckner, 52, has a history of animal neglect, with convictions in 1998 and 2010.

The horses discovered when authorities served a search warrant Tuesday at Buckner's property suffered from weight loss, skin infections and hoof neglect. They included thoroughbreds, quarter horses and a pregnant Missouri fox trotter mare; other mares may also be pregnant.

Marion County Sheriffs deputies planned to feed and water the horses until the animals are transferred to a rescue facility.

(The Oregonian - May 05, 2011)

Australia: Pit bull mauls pregnant Shetland pony, locks jaws onto its neck. After being beaten with a piece of wood, it lets go - only to attack a Quarter Horse

AUSTRALIA -- Two old horses are lucky to be alive after a brutal pit bull attack in Kanahooka.

The horses' owner, Susan Myers, who witnessed the attack, is concerned the pit bull cross could still be on the loose.

On Sunday, November 2, Ms Myers was at home, periodically checking on 25-year-old Shetland pony Rosie, when she saw the female pit bull attack the mare.

Shetland pony Rosie was attacked first but the pit bull
dog then went for Zida after a man hit it with some
 wood. Rosie gave birth two days later.

"I'd been keeping an eye on her because she was pregnant and due to give birth," she said.

"I happened to look out and saw it while the attack was happening. I yelled out to my mum to ring the vet immediately. I just raced over screaming like a mad person with a whip in my hand."

Ms Myers said no amount of yelling would make the dog unclasp its jaws from the terrified pony's neck, but even when the dog did let go the rampage was not over.

"A man came into the paddock and hit the dog with a lump of wood, then it took off and went for my other horse in the next paddock and just launched straight at her throat," she said.

"I've seen dogs attack animals before but they usually go for the legs or the belly, but this dog knew exactly where to go to make a kill.

"After it did all of this it chased a man who was walking his dog and he just got in his door in the nick of time ... and the dog still tried to savage the door."

Police and a Wollongong City Council ranger attended the scene where a second dog was caught, although they were not able to locate the female culprit.

Susan Myers checks the injury a dog left
after attacking quarter horse Zida around the throat.

Despite their traumatic ordeal, both Rosie and Zida the quarter horse survived.

Ms Myers is just thankful the outcome wasn't worse.

"The ponies are for little kids," she said. "If they were here it could have been really, really bad."

Rosie's foal arrived two days later.

(Illawarra Mercury - November 12, 2008)