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Stallings rejects
plea
We have some good news... Richard Stallings, rejected the plea
agreement for the horses he tortured and neglected. We are sure that the
horses will now receive justice for the pain and suffering they endured.
Here is the article that the Princeton Daily Clarion has written about the
case thus far:
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Stallings rejects
Posted: Thursday, Dec 20, 2007 - 11:46:56 pm EST
plea deal offer
By TRAVIS NEFF
travisn@pdclarion.com
PRINCETON-A six-person jury will be called in the case of a former
Owensville man accused of abusing dozens of horses, said the judge hearing
the case.
Richard M. Stallings, 66, turned down a plea agreement and opted for a jury
trial to determine the outcome of 50 criminal animal cruelty and neglect
charges.
After asking Stallings if he was sure he understood the possible penalties
of a conviction and that he had consulted with his attorney Michael Cochren,
Judge Earl Penrod said the beginning trial date of Feb. 19 was confirmed.
Stallings is charged with eight felony counts of cruelty to animals and 42
misdemeanor counts of neglect of a vertebrate animal.
"My client maintains his innocence and the only way for him to clear his
name is to have a jury tell us he's innocent," said Cochren. "We intend to
prove that at trial."
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Sharon Werne said she was not surprised Stallings
wanted a trial. "We're ready to seek justice for these animals," she said.
Both parties declined to reveal the nature of the proposed plea agreement.
Werne said that depending on varying interpretations of statutes, Stallings
could be facing a prison sentence of at least eight years and as many as 12
if he is convicted.
During Thursday's hearing, Penrod said he was not a party to the plea
agreement discussions and did not know what the state offered to Stallings
in return for entering a guilty plea.
Both the prosecution and the defense were ordered to submit witness lists
for the trial, which Werne said would include veterinarians, Gibson County
Sheriff's deputies, Gibson County Animal Services Director Brenda Foley and
Indiana Horse Rescue Director Anthony Caldwell.
The farm has since been purchased by Indiana Horse Rescue and is used as a
sanctuary for mistreated horses.
According to an affidavit for probable cause, several of the horses had been
kept in urine and manure-soaked stalls and were mal-nourished. Foley visited
the farm on multiple occasions and Stallings had been given a chance to
clean up the horses' living conditions, but they did not improve, according
to the affidavit.
Some of the horses had to be euthanized after being seized by authorities,
the affidavit says.
A search warrant was served in January 2006 at the farm Stallings operated
in Southwest Gibson County, after police received complaints of horses being
kept in unsanitary conditions and improperly disposed horse carcasses.
Werne said that if Stallings is convicted, the prosecution wants him to
serve jail time.
Penrod said a questionnaire would be sent to prospective jurors prior to
voir dire. Cochren asked for a change of venue in the case because of
pre-trial publicity, but Penrod denied that motion.
Three weeks were set aside for the trial due to the number of witnesses and
the number of exhibits which will be shown in the case, but on Thursday,
Werne said the state could possible present its case within a week.
Cochren said he would also call expert witnesses to the stand to testify on
his client's behalf. Jurors will be shown pictures and videos of the
animals, Werne said. Penrod said he may order new audio/visual equipment
installed so the jury can better see the images.
Article can be found at:
http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2007/12/21/pdclarion/news/news2.txt
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This morning WFIE Channel 14 was here at Indiana Horse Rescue Southwest, so
keep an eye out today and the next couple of days for the story on the news!
Here is their website, sometimes you can replay the news after it airs:
http://www.14wfie.com/
A Huge thank you to everyone who has been involved with the Gibson County
horses! Justice will FINALLY be served!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from everyone at Animal Protection Coalition, Inc!
Thank YOU for helping to make 2007 an exciting and successful year.
We couldn't have done it without you. YOU have helped to save lives of the
many animals turned over to us.
Animal Protection Coalition, Inc is looking forward to another year of
working with you to change the lives of many animals.The holiday
season for most is normally a joyous time, full of love and warmth.
But for many animals, life is a cold reality -- overshadowed by the
excitement of the holidays.
For those animals the new year brings stress, harsh weather, and time
alone. As a result, in winter months animal welfare agencies see a
huge increase in reports of animal neglect. Although the caregivers in
many of these situations are basically good people who have gotten caught up
in despair or anger and made bad decisions, animals suffer nonetheless.
As a member of Animal Protection Coalition, Inc, you become part of a
team that fights to protect and support animals every day. A team that
fights to end cruelty, abuse and neglect - year-round 24 hours a day.
Cruelty, abuse and neglect never take a day off. And neither can we!
We need your support to fight the battle to end animal neglect and abuse.
Join the Animal Protection Coalition team to show your support
that the fight must never end until all animals are safe!
Become a member of Animal Protection Coalition, Inc
TODAY!
If you are not ready to join our Organization at this time, you can
still help by making a
single donation. And don’t forget:
donations to APC are tax-deductible as we are a 501(c)3 non profit
organization.
Will you help us fight to protect animals year-round?
Animal Protection Coalition, Inc provides leadership, expertise and
housing for animals in need. We advocate for better laws to protect
animals from abuse and neglect, and we train community members and law
enforcement professionals to apply proven, effective approaches for helping
animals in need.
Please join our
Organization and support the battle to make
the world a better, safer and kinder place for animals! Remember, if a
single gift is best for you right now, you can still
make a difference.
We are a local animal shelter looking for support
from our community. One of the ways in which we may receive
support is through your involvement at
ZooToo.com . ZooToo.com is giving
away a Shelter Makeover Valued at ONE MILLION DOLLARS and YOU can help
Indiana Horse Rescue win! It only takes a moment to register and the
site has a lot of useful information for pet lovers. Registration
is free and if you sign up using the link below, Indiana Horse Rescue
automatically receives 100 points toward this contest. Even if you
are only able to register, it would help us help animals. To help us
raise more points, click on Pet Products and Pet News. For each Pet
Product that you review we earn 20 points and for every Pet News article
that you discuss we earn 8 points! The Shelter with the most points by
March 31, 2008 wins the Shelter Makeover, Shelters in the Top 20 also
receive a considerable cash amount!
Please take a moment to join ZooToo.com by
clicking on the following link or by copying and pasting it into your
web browser:
Thank you,
Indiana Horse Rescue
Secret Santa
Calling all Indiana
Horse Rescue supporters! We would like to invite you to become
Secret Santas for the horses this Christmas! The horses deserve
presents this holiday season just like you or I. We have
decided to start a Secret Santa Program to help out our rescue
horses in need! If you are interested in helping out a horse in need
this Christmas, please send an e-mail to
nahobbs@verizon.net and include the following information:
Your Name:
Address:
Phone Number:
# Horses you would like to be a Secret Santa for
Do you prefer a mare or gelding?
Which IHR Division would you like "your" horse(s) to be from?
Amount you would like to
spend?
$5-$10
$10-$15
$15-$20
Other
You will receive an
information sheet with a photo of "your" horse(s) and information on
items and supplies that the horse(s) needs and/or will benefit from
greatly!
If you would like
to buy items online and have them sent directly to the facility
where the horse is housed please consider using the following
companies as they donate a portion of the proceeds to the rescue:
JeffersEquine.com
HorseSaddleShop.com - Use code RESCUE and they donate 5% to
IHR
Country
Supply - Include the Country Care code IndianaHorseRescue
PetAbet
- Choose Animal Protection Coalition as your benefiting
organization!
Here is a list of
supply companies that our facilities frequently use to buy items and
supplies for their rescue horses. You can call to make orders for
volunteers to pick up or visit the rescue and deliver products
yourself :
|
Indiana Horse Rescue Central & Central
West |
Rural King
2500 Teal Rd
Lafayette, IN 47905
(765) 471-0804 |
Thrifty Supply
401 S Prairie Ave
Frankfort, IN 46041
(765) 654-8282 |
Tractor Supply Co.
Store #121
4841 State Road 38 E.
Lafayette, IN 47905
(765) 447-9331 |
|
Indiana Horse Rescue East |
Tractor Supply Co.
Store #623
3601 E. Mcgalliard Rd.
Muncie, IN 47303
(765) 747-0461 |
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Indiana Horse Rescue South |
Tractor Supply Co.
Store #617
1935 Old Highway 135 NW
Corydon, IN 47112
(812) 734-0296 |
|
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Indiana Horse Rescue Southwest |
Choice Equine & Pet
Supply
7520 Peachwood Dr
Newburgh, IN 47630
(812) 858-7341 |
Rural King
2007 W Broadway St
Princeton, IN 47670
(812) 385-4078 |
Tractor Supply Co.
Store #160
5210 E Morgan Ave
Evansville, IN 47715
(812) 477-6497 |
If you have any
questions regarding the Secret Santa Program please e-mail Nancy
Hobbs at
nahobbs@verizon.net!
iGive.com Surfathon
Indiana Horse Rescue along with iGive.com, inviting you to change
YOUR online shopping into support for a truly worthy cause.
It is easy to help support Indiana Horse Rescue, just by shopping
online at over 685 online stores. And right now, your surfing can
help too: when you
visit online stores through iGive.com, it counts as an entry in
iGive.com's Surfathon sweepstakes for a chance to win a $1,000
donation! They're giving away $1000 to 5 winning causes, every month
for 10 months! I hope you'll join iGive.com for more chances to help
IHR win, you can join for free and check out their stores. You don't
even have to buy anything!
If you do happen to make a purchase through iGive.com within 45 days
of joining, iGive.com will donate an EXTRA $5 to your favorite
cause!
With over 685 participating stores, it's easy to find the things you
need AND support a good cause.
HOW IT WORKS:
1. Join iGive.com to support Indiana Horse Rescue It's free, safe,
and easy to join.
http://www.iGive.com/html/refer.cfm?memberid=400809&causeid=28178
2. Shop through iGive.com OR just surf their stores Their online
mall features trusted online retailers like Lands' End, Staples,
NORDSTROM, JCPenney, eBay, Expedia.com, Barnes & Noble, QVC, &
PETsMART to name just a few!
3. Watch the $$ roll in for Indiana Horse Rescue! Up to 26% of EACH
purchase is donated, plus a bonus $5 donation if you shop within 45
days. The more stores you visit, the more chances to win a $1,000
donation during the Surfathon!
So, to recap:
Join for free, shop within 45 days of joining, and you'll get an
extra $5 donation, FREE. And even if you don't shop, simply visiting
stores through iGive.com means more chances to win a $1000 donation
during the Surfathon! This is a limited time offer - you can click
the link below to learn more:
http://www.iGive.com/html/surfathon.cfm
----------------------------------------------------
Use this link to JOIN FOR FREE and begin supporting Indiana Horse
Rescue:
http://www.iGive.com/html/refer.cfm?memberid=400809&causeid=28178
----------------------------------------------------
MORE INCENTIVES for iGive.com Shoppers:
-->FREE SHIPPING deals from great stores
-->SALES & COUPONS to save you money
-->VIRTUAL KARMA from supporting YOUR favorite cause
-->$5 FREE donation when you shop within 45 days!
We hope to see you at iGive.com soon.
Indiana Horse Rescue
www.indianahorserescue.com
P.S. iGive.com would like you to know that all the causes at
iGive.com have been listed by members for their own and others'
benefit. They don't endorse the causes, and the causes don't endorse
them. But we DO! So, c'mon, click on that link above.
Shop Till You Drop
The Indiana Horse Rescue Online Gift Shop is now up
and running! Please check out all the cool products we have for sale! Please
help spread the word and support Indiana Horse Rescue by making a purchase.
Go to:
http://www.cafepress.com/inhorserescue to see a full list of products!
More items will be coming soon! You can also go to
http://www.indianahorserescue.com and click on the gift shop link under
the IHR image.
Yahoo! Group
Indiana Horse Rescue now has a group on Yahoo! This
group is for all supporters, adopters, volunteers, and anyone interested in
equine rescue! Please join us and share your stories, problems, solutions,
and events by signing up for the Indiana Horse Rescue Yahoo! Group!
You can join by going to
http://www.indianahorserescue.com and clicking on the Yahoo! Group
button on the left side of the page or click on the link below or paste it
into your web browser address bar:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/indianahorserescue/join
Thank You!
Thank you everyone who
supports our organization! We could not do everything we do without
you! You are the ones that keep this organization running and you are
the ones saving the lives of innocent animals! Please continue to
support Animal Protection Coalition, Inc. and all of our Animal Welfare
Divisions!
APC/ IHR Corporate Offices
10474 West 800 South
Owensville, IN 47665
E-mail
kelsey@animalprotectioncoalition.org
Fax (206)
338-5604
Phone (812) PAWS111
(812) 729-7111
or
(812) 729-7697
Permission to cross post!
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