|
|
 |
Cruelty
to animals trial ends in guilty verdict
Landowner
to repay county $72,000
Catherine Faimon | Publisher
LYNDON — Salah Ibrahim, Lecompton, was found guilty
Tuesday in Osage County District Court on one count of cruelty
to animals, a class A nonperson misdemeanor, and one count
of unlawful disposal of dead animals, an unclassified misdemeanor.
Fourth Judicial District Judge Phillip Fromme handed down
the verdict following a two-day bench trial that began Monday
morning.
Ibrahim was sentenced to one year unsupervised probation for
the cruelty to animals charge, and must pay court costs of
$160, a fingerprint fee of $35, and restitution of $70,191,
the amount paid by the county for feeding and boarding of
Ibrahim’s seized horses. The defendant consented to
having the horses adopted out or be sold at auction, but must
be done within the next 30 days. Osage County Sheriff Laurie
Dunn will oversee the effort, with any sale proceeds going
toward payment of restitution. Additional fees will accrue
at $11 per day, per horse, through that 30-day period.
Fromme waived the suggested $100 fine for count 2, unlawful
disposal of dead animals.
Criminal charges were filed by Osage County Attorney Brandon
Jones May 1, 2010, against Ibrahim, an engineering consultant
who owned a 128-acre parcel of land at 325th and Jordan Road
near Melvern in Osage County. Thirteen horses were seized
from his property the night of April 16, 2010, by Osage County
Sheriff’s Officers, after a neighbor, Mandi Nance, reported
seeing underfed and unhealthy horses on the property, beginning
in March 2010. At the time the animals were seized, two dead
horses were found in the pasture. The 13 horses were taken
that night to Arndt Quarter Horse and Stables, in Emporia,
to be boarded and fed. The horses have remained under the
care of Debbie and Tom Arndt at their facility in Emporia.
One of the horses transported, a black and white paint, died
five days later.
For the complete story, subscribe to the print or online
edition of The Osage County Herald-Chronicle at www.och-c.com/subscribe.html.
|
|
|
|
