Michigan: Exotic animals case against Jessica Achberger, 40, and Troy Leiby, 40, bound over to circuit court

MICHIGAN -- Jessica Achberger, 40, and Troy Leiby, 40, were bound over to circuit court Wednesday afternoon after the conclusion of their preliminary examination in the case of exotic animals found at their Mottville Township home.

The preliminary examination began on Feb. 16, but was unable to be completed as an emergency hearing took place when Dr. Judilee Marrow from Binder Park Zoo requested permission from the court to euthanize the Bettong on Friday, Feb. 19.

Achberger and Leiby are facing three counts of animal torture; one count for the Bettong, one count for the Coatimundi and one count for the Macaque Monkey. Both are facing one count of obstruction of justice.

Judge Jeffrey Middleton presided over the preliminary examination.

*  Achberger’s count results from Jan. 28 after she wasn’t truthful with authorities about exotic animals being present in the home. Leiby’s count results from Jan. 20 when authorities were first called to the home and Leiby told them there were no exotic animals present.

Middleton said, “That [obstruction of justice] should be count one, it will be the most serious of charges.”

Achberger and Leiby also face one count of animal cruelty charges.

 

 

 

“This case does not hold a lot of jury appeal for the defendants, the jurors are going to hear this and their blood pressure is going to go up. There’s two sides to every story and we haven’t heard your side,” Middleton said.

Middleton continued, “These animals should not have been there in the first place. I don’t think you intentionally wanted to harm these animals; you got in over your head. You were trying to fit five pounds of sand in a one-pound bag.”

(Three Rivers News - March 3, 2016)

Earlier:

• Michigan: Exotic animals seized from home in deplorable condition; Jessica Achberger arrested

Michigan: Exotic animals seized from home in deplorable condition; Jessica Achberger arrested

"Upon entry, it was a very horrific scene," said Gregory Musser, the Animal Control supervisor with the St. Joseph County Sheriff's department. "The smells were unbearable."

MICHIGAN -- A Mottville couple is under arrest Thursday night for keeping exotic animals in their house.

 

Wallabies and flying squirrels are just two of the types of wild animals they were keeping illegally.

Authorities are working to remove the animals from the home, saying the conditions there are deplorable, and deputies are concerned about one animal in particular.

 

Wallabies, flying squirrels, exotic raccoons, and a monkey. Those are just some of the more than 20 animals kept at the Mottville home.

"I was in there one time, probably the first year they lived here. They had a giant cat, I think it was either from Africa or India," said neighbor Jerry Willings.

 

Jessica Achberger and her husband are facing charges of animal cruelty, and owning the exotic animals without permits.

Authorities went through the house Thursday, making the discoveries after a concerned neighbor called animal control.

They had seen the wallabies bouncing in the backyard. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department, the couple owned a pet store in Indiana, and that's where the animals came from.

 

"We were told by them they had to close their store, and that they were trying to keep all the animals here, and they intended to keep them for themselves as pets," said Josh Shook, with St. Joseph County Animal Control.

Deputies say the animals were living inside the house in deplorable conditions. Authorities tell us most of the critters seem to be in good health, expect for the monkey, which could be carrying diseases.

"We're concerned about its welfare, and the fact it hasn't had any medical attention in a very long time. Monkeys that aren't maintained properly can carry diseases harmful to humans," Shook said.

Authorities are working with local zoos to find the animals a temporary home.

The accused couple could be in front of a judge as soon as Friday.

(WWMT - Jan 28, 2016)

It looks as though Anna Morrow and Jessica Achberger had moved their pet store, Downunder Reef Pet Shop, from Granger, Indiana to nearby Elkhart, Indiana a few years back and mistakenly thought that because they had USDA licenses to breed and sell exotic animals that the USDA license would protect them from Elkhart local ordinances which prohibits the sale and ownership of exotic animals. Maybe they thought they could open the pet store in Michigan? Either way, it's way too many animals for just two people to care for properly.

Elkhart pet shop may violate exotic animal ordinance (Aug 4, 2013)
Anna Morrow said they were told that their USDA license overrules local ordinances, but according to a USDA official, that is not how the license works.

Tanya Espinosa, public affairs specialist for the USDA’s animal and plant health inspection service, confirmed that Downunder Reef does have a license to breed and sell exotics. However, people who hold USDA licenses must abide by state, county and city laws, Espinosa said.

 

Jonathan Long, deputy city attorney for Elkhart, also said there is no permit that allows pet shop owners or residents to sell or keep exotic animals in the city of Elkhart.

“It’s against city ordinance to harbor any exotic animals,” Long emphasized.

Exotic pet store owners say they are doing everything right (Aug 5, 2013)

A local publication has brought a new pet shop into question. Downunder Reef Pet Shop is new to Elkhart and concerns are being raised about if they're complying with city ordinances when it comes to the animals they house.

Owners Anna Morrow and Jessica Achberger say they are doing everything right to their knowledge. Downunder Reef is new to the area, but they aren't new to the business. 

 

"We're doing the same thing that we've done in the last two years, it's just in another city," says Morrow.

Questions have came up about if this new pet shop is complying with city codes on their animals, but these owners say they've met all city requirements. "Our ducks are in a row, we've always taken the provisions to making sure we have the licensing," says Achberger. 

FOX28 talked to the city's law office about this. They confirmed that the pet store has proper licenses for running a pet shop in Elkhart. Deputy city attorney Jonathan Long says, "Both the police department and the city are aware of the potential of exotic animals."

"We breed and sale savannah cats and Bengal cats and sugar gliders," says Achberger.

My favorite Reddit (and Imgur) cat photos from today

 

my aunt's cat Whiskers (imgur.com)
submitted 12 hours ago by compagemony to /r/pics

 

 

 

I love the Internet, when it does things like this (imgur.com)
submitted 13 hours ago by radj1907 to /r/funny

 

 

I entered my home after a day at work to find this... (imgur.com)
submitted 12 hours ago by creamily_tee to /r/aww

 

 

In honor of Mother's Day, here's my Mom taking her Savannah for a walk (imgur.com)
submitted 14 hours ago by Felix_Holt to /r/pics

Lost pet cat wandering streets of Detroit shot dead and thrown in trash

MICHIGAN -- The search for Chum ended days ago, it turns out. And not the way animal lovers had hoped.

The 25-pound Savannah cat, which had drawn increasing media coverage for its imposing size as it roamed an east-side Detroit neighborhood, was shot dead even before some of the news stories circulated about his perceived menace, according to a local rescue group.

The cat’s body was found in a trash can in that neighborhood Monday evening, said Laura Wilhelm-Bruzek, founder of Paws for the Cause, the feral cat rescue group based in Chesterfield Township.

A neighbor near Joann and Bringard, just south of 8 Mile, shot the cat days ago, Wilhelm-Bruzek said. The all-volunteer nonprofit rescue group and other advocates for feral cats had been searching for the cat since Saturday.

“I think people can’t just go around shooting things they don’t understand,” Wilhelm-Bruzek said Tuesday. “I think we need to be a little bit more respectful of the animals and human beings around us. I’d love to see someone look into it and investigate it. But I’m not holding out a lot of hope. This whole thing from the beginning has just been a mess.”

Neighbors said they had contacted the Michigan Humane Society and Detroit police when the cat was seen roaming the neighborhood, but both declined to investigate.

But Michigan Humane Society spokesman Ryan McTigue today denied the agency was notified before receiving a call Friday from a reporter. He said cruelty investigators began looking into the cat’s whereabouts on Friday.

“That’s pretty terrible,” McTigue said when told about the cat’s fate.

Paws for the Cause got involved last week, and the cat’s owners called the group Monday, Wilhelm-Bruzek said. They said the cat, which did not have a microchip, had gotten out of their home about a month ago through a window.

The rescue group heard that the cat had been shot. But they weren’t able to find the cat’s body until Monday, Wilhelm-Bruzek said, when the group was shown where the cat had been thrown away.

“I simply asked them for the cat’s body and they said it was across the street in a garbage can,” she said. She was walked to the garbage can, “and the cat — whose name is Chum — was there,” she said.

Chum’s owners, who live near 9 Mile and Gratiot and had raised the cat since it was 4 months old, were devastated.

“They were hysterical,” Wilhelm-Bruzek said, adding that they planned to have the cat cremated.

According to the International Cat Association, a Savannah is a hybrid between a domesticated house cat and an African serval cat. Wilhelm-Bruzek said Chum, about 2 feet tall from floor to head when sitting, was an F2 Savannah, or a second-generation hybrid.

“I don’t think it was the size as much as the coloration that scared people,” Wilhelm-Bruzek said.

Savannah cats have long legs and exotic spots like a small leopard or wildcat, according to the association. They were first introduced to the public in 1997 and are sold for thousands of dollars.

(freep.com - Aug 27 2013)