Kentucky: Paul Schember, 70, was charged with animal cruelty back in 2010. Now's he's accused of driving around and abandoning his horses at various places

KENTUCKY -- A Nicholasville man was arrested on a warrant and charged with animal cruelty after he abandoned two Thoroughbred horses.

Paul Schember, 70, of Nicholasville, was arrested by Nicholasville Police on Jan. 4 for illegally abandoning the Thoroughbreds at various farms throughout the county.

Jessamine County Animal Care and Control Deputy Director, Frank Ruggiero, filed criminal complaints last week against Schember.

“(JCACC) has been involved since the end of October,” Ruggiero said. “We were called on a few occasions but couldn’t find anything to charge him with.”

The deputy director said he has filed three complaints on Schember.

The first time was in regard to his canines running at large on the streets of Nicholasville.

The second and third time Ruggiero filed a complaint concerned Schember abandoning the horses — an off-the-racetrack Thoroughbred gelding and a filly bought from the Keeneland Sale.

Schember allegedly abandoned his horses, leaving them in a trailer for 24 hours straight. The horses reportedly appeared underweight and were found standing in their own feces. The man stated that the people who made the complaint were just trying to take his horses. Demand that justice is served for these innocent horses.

“The conditions kept getting worse. They were in about three inches of manure,” stated Jenny Hasson. She and other concerned neighbors filed a complaint against 70-year-old Paul Schember after he reportedly abandoned the horses on private property. She also reported that at least one of the horses appeared emaciated. Schember stated that he got permission from someone who turned out not to be the owner of the property. He claimed that all of the other complaints are lies.

JCACC aren’t the only ones who have filed complaints on Schember.

Jenny Hasson of Nicholasville met Schember when he approached her friend, Kathy Gonzalez. Gonzalez owns Karumel Farm Animal Rescue on Bethany Road. Schember asked her to help transport a few horses to a new location.

“The reason he was moving horses was because he was being kicked off another property,” Hasson said. “Paul had notified her because she had horses and he asked if he could move his horses with her trailer.”

But that is not what happened.

On her way home Gonzalez noticed the gelding horse’s head sticking out of a barn on Bethany Road.

“He had stashed the horse there and the property owner did not give him permission,” Hasson said. “Our main concern was the horse was not getting hay or water.”

Hasson said she called Jessamine County Animal Rescue and took pictures to document the incident.

"A gelding who was slightly overweight in September is now severely underweight. You can see all of his ribs," she said.

“We’ve been trying every angle we could to try and save these animals,” Hasson said. “I’ve pressed charges.”

Schember says, "I grew up in a farm in Michigan. we always took care of our animals. we came down here. i love horses i take care of them. i love dogs. i take care of them. and you can see they're fat as pigs."

“There are a lot of organizations in Kentucky that support Thoroughbreds,” Hasson said.

This is not Schember’s first time being arrested on the charge.

According to public record, he was arrested in 2010 for second-degree cruelty to animals.

ARREST INFO:
Full Name: Paul Schember
Gender: Male
City: Nicholasville, Kentucky 40356
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 170 lbs
Hair Color: BRO
Eye Color: GREEN
Arrest Age: 70
Date: 01/04/2017
Time: 1:20 PM
Arresting Agency: NICHOLASVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
County: Jessamine County, Kentucky
Total Bond: $500
Charge
#1 CRUELTY TO ANIMALS-2ND DEGREE
BOND: $500

(Jessamine Journal - January 11, 2017)

United Kingdom: Twelve swans shot on the River Thames in a brutal bout of animal cruelty within a stones throw of Windsor Castle

UNITED KINGDOM -- Twelve swans have been shot on the River Thames in a brutal bout of animal cruelty within a stones throw of Windsor Castle.

Two had to be put down after they were shot in the head, according a rescue and treatment center called Swan Support.

"The bullets were still embedded in two of the swans we helped this week, one had bounced off the eye socket of another and one went straight through the other."

After rescuing so many deliberately injured swans in recent months Mrs Hermon is no longer surprised by anything.

"It makes me more angry than upset now. Why do they do it?" -- Wendy Hermon from Swan Support

Eight were blasted with an air rifle shot on January 29 while a further four were shot on January 24.

The first four birds were all shot in the eye.

A month ago a swan was found battered to death in Barry Avenue, a short distance away.

A month before that three birds were shot on the same stretch of river, the Windsor Observer reported.

Information to police about any attacks on river birds by call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

(ITV - Jan 29, 2017)

New Jersey: Judge denies motion to dismiss bird-killing indictment against ex-councilman Carlos Luaces

NEW JERSEY -- Citing that he felt enough evidence was presented to a Passaic County grand jury to secure an indictment, a judge on Thursday declined to dismiss the indictment against a former Byram councilman charged with animal cruelty.

Carlos Luaces is charged with third-degree animal cruelty and is accused of killing a baby bird by spraying it and its nest with pesticides while serving as the head of the West Milford Department of Public Works.

The charges are based on interviews with a half-dozen public works employees, who said Luaces first ordered them to destroy the nest by spraying it with pesticide. 

The employees refused, and on July 16, Luaces allegedly took a spray can filled with pesticide and doused the nest, killing the baby chicks and destroying another egg, Purcell said.

“This was the second family of birds that had lived in the nest, and the employees had grown attached to it,” Purcell said. “They were feeding the birds strawberries and other things.”

Gary Kraemer, Luaces' attorney, argued that the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office had not presented sufficient evidence to the grand jury and because of that, the indictment should be dismissed.

"There has to be some evidence that the bird was poisoned," Kraemer said. "It was presented in a way that leads the grand jury to infer that it (the herbicide spray) was poisonous to the bird."

Kraemer said the weed killer Luaces is alleged to have used was non-toxic for birds and other animals.

Assistant Prosecutor Peter Roby countered that while the herbicide was found to be safe on full-grown birds, the manufacturer's safety data sheet does not say anything about it being safe for just hatched birds or bird eggs.

Continuing his point that there is no definitive proof that the bird was poisoned, Kraemer said that an autopsy or a necropsy of the bird was never conducted and that when witnesses allegedly saw the bird struggling to live in the nest, it could have been caused by other factors.

"A hawk could have flown down and nicked the bird, injuring it and that's what they saw," Kraemer said.

Roby contended that presenting the grand jury with evidence that witnesses observed Luaces putting down the chemical sprayer in the DPW shop combined with comments he made to witnesses about a bird growing three heads because it got sprayed with the chemicals and that the birds were cute but "had to go," was sufficient to obtain an indictment.

Judge Scott Bennion agreed saying the threshold for a judge to dismiss an indictment is very high and that he felt the prosecution had presented enough evidence to the grand jury.

Bennion said whether the spray Luaces allegedly used was lethal to birds would have to be argued before a jury at a trial and it was not for him or a grand jury to decide.

According to Bennion -- who outlined the facts in the case -- Luaces is alleged to have sprayed weed killer around the West Milford Department of Public Works yard on July 16, 2015, and on a robin's nest located behind a garage, which at the time of the spraying contained three unhatched eggs and one baby bird.

On July 17, 2015, DPW workers allegedly noticed a dead bird in the nest along with the three unhatched eggs and then relocated the nest with the eggs and alleged dead bird to a protected area of the DPW yard, the motion says.

Three weeks later, on Aug. 5, 2015, two DPW employees complained of the incident to police and when police went to investigate found the nest, but not eggs, birds or mother robin.

Luaces, of Byram, served on the Byram Township Council from January 2012 until his resignation in February 2014.

In a statement to the New Jersey Herald regarding his resignation, he said he was doing so because he was "embarking on a new career endeavor" that did not leave him time to dedicate himself to the people of Byram.

Though originally just suspended, Luaces was terminated from his West Milford position in August 2015.

Following the judge's decision, Kraemer said he and Luaces were disappointed in the outcome as they still felt the evidence presented did not prove Luaces killed a bird.

"There is still not one iota of evidence that the spray is harmful to birds," Kraemer said.

Roby declined to comment.

Luaces will return to court on Feb. 13 for a pre-trial conference.

(New Jersey Herald - Jan 20, 2017)

Earlier:

• Is this the most hated man in New Jersey right now? Carlos Luaces allegedly killed baby birds that co-workers had become attached to, with bug spray
• Former West Milford DPW, Carlos Luaces, charged with poisoning bird's nest may be offered plea bargain

California: Deviant cat torturer, cat killer and son of a retired San Jose police captain, Robert Farmer, may have to register as a sex offender

CALIFORNIA -- A San Jose man who tortured and killed 21 cats may have to register as a sex offender.

Robert Roy Farmer, 25, was ordered to return to court on March 2, when a sentencing date is expected to be set, reports the San Jose Mercury News.

In October 2015, San Jose police found Farmer asleep in his car, with a dead cat beside him, and was arrested.

He pleaded guilty to 21 felony counts of animal cruelty, one count of misdemeanor battery, and one count of being under the influence.

A necropsy on the orange female tabby cat found in his car determined that the animal died of blunt force trauma and may have been sexually abused.

Farmer’s DNA matched samples found on the cat’s claws, evidence could may require the man to register as a sex offender.

Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Ellis told a crowd gathered outside the courthouse that the sentencing was taking such a long time because “there are so many sentencing laws at play,” the Mercury News reports.

“The people have asked the court to consider 290 registration, which is sex offender registration,” Ellis said.

Farmer is in custody at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas. He faces up to 16 years and four months in prison.

(SF Gate - Jan 29, 2017)

Earlier:

• California: Suspected cat killer, Robert Farmer, is the son of a retired San Jose police captain
• California: San Jose accused cat killer Robert Farmer sexually abused at least one of the felines he tortured and killed
• California: Suspected cat killer Robert Farmer, 24, pleads not guilty to animal cruelty charges
• California: More animal cruelty charges filed against accused cat killer, Robert Farmer, who may have also raped the cats

Kentucky: Terry Miller accused of starving his Coonhound

KENTUCKY -- Perry County deputies charged a man with animal cruelty Thursday.

Deputies said they got a call about cruel treatment of a dog in Upper Second Creek and found the dog with no food or water. The dog did not have proper shelter for the weather and was underweight from not being properly fed, deputies said.

The dog was taken to the Kentucky River Regional Animal Shelter in Hazard.

"He was really dehydrated so we took him to the vet and then he had to stay overnight just to get rehydrated," said Allison Mullins, the Manager of the Kentucky River Regional Animal Shelter.

Deputies said, unfortunately, animal cruelty cases are becoming more common.

"I don't understand why someone gets an animal and don't take care of it," said Sergeant Ruey Couch, with the Perry County Sheriff's Department. "I mean if they can't take care of it...they need to seek help. Call the animal shelter or try to call somebody to get them some help or get a better home. The community is obviously not going to put up with this."

Terry Miller, the dog's owner, was charged with cruelty to animals.

(WYMT - Jan 27, 2017)

North Carolina: Tommy Heath, 55, arrested after rope allowed to get embedded into his dog's neck, causing it to become "extremely swollen"

NORTH CAROLINA -- A man is facing animal cruelty charges after police say a rope became embedded in a dog's neck.

55-year-old Tommy Heath was arrested Thursday and charged with felony animal cruelty.

On January 20th around 3 p.m., a concerned citizen called 911 to report a dog in the area of the 300 block of East Blount Street with a rope or collar embedded in its neck, causing its face to become extremely swollen.

Efforts were made to remove the rope were unsuccessful.

The dog was taken to Lenoir County SPCA, and then to Five Oaks Animal Hospital for treatment.

Emergency surgery was performed for more than 3 hours.

The dog, now named Angel, is in the care of a foster family.

Heath is in the Lenoir County Jail under at $5,000 secured bond.

The investigation is ongoing.

(WITN - Jan 26, 2017)

North Carolina: Sad news regarding the abused dog named Duck who was going to be adopted by the state trooper who rescued him

NORTH CAROLINA -- Poor Duck was found all alone on a desolate bridge by a state trooper.

Instead of chasing Duck away from the road and driving off, the trooper stopped and called Duck to come to him.

Despite being horribly neglected and abused, Duck came right to the trooper, who was thoughtful enough to keep food in his vehicle. He took Duck to the animal shelter where animal control officers said Duck had suffered horribly in his short life.

Animal services' supervisor, Joe Newburn, said the dog was likely confined to a cage for a long period of time, causing his growth to be stunted.

Newburn said the dog's paws are swollen with blisters from living in its own waste. He said the dog was only 37 pound when it was brought in.

Because he didn't have a name, the came up with Duck because of the way he walked. Due to malnutrition and having probably lived most of his life in a cramped cage, his feet looked like duck's feet and when he walked they flattened out.

The state trooper felt an instant connection with Duck and decided that he was going to adopt Duck and give him the best life - one he deserved.

But it wasn't meant to be.

Just a few days after being found and cared for by animal control, Duck suddenly passed away during the night.

Thank you, Trooper Justin Gardner for showing kindness to Duck when you found him. It was probably the first bit of kindness he had ever received from a human being in his life. Thank you for offering to give Duck a forever home.

Thank you to all who cared for Duck and showed him what love and kindness was like in his final days.

If you have any idea who abused poor Duck, please call Animal Services at (910) 296-2159.

Earlier:

• North Carolina: State trooper to adopt abused German Shepherd he found and rescued