Millstone Farm
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Cindy Moses sent me the link to a newspaper article that details what happened in court yesterday. More delays and stalls.
I'm pasting the article below.
Animal abuse case stalls: Upton owners of miniature horse fail to appear in court on time[/size
By Danielle Williamson / Daily News Staff
Friday, January 6, 2006 - Updated: 03:46 AM EST
MILFORD -- Several women who have worked closely with the prosecutor in a miniature horse abuse case left Milford District Court visibly discouraged yesterday, after the two defendants didn’t show up in court on time.
"It’s been very frustrating," said Cindy Moses, a Bow, N.H., resident, president of the Northeast Miniature Horse Club and chairwoman of the club’s rescue committee. "We’re not looking for punishment at this point. We just want them to put a deal together (that protects the horses)."
Upton couple Jerrold Arnowitz and Maria Kelleghan pleaded not guilty June 27 to charges of cruelty to animals by custodian. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issued a complaint June 16 against the pair for allegedly neglecting dozens of miniature horses on their Oak Drive farm. Since July, the prosecution and defense have worked to develop plans for the horses’ care while criminal charges are pending.
Arnowitz and Kelleghan did not appear in court yesterday. Reached at home, Kelleghan said she and Arnowitz had a family medical emergency and thought their court date was next week. Judge Robert Calagione issued a default warrant for the couple’s arrest if they failed to appear by the close of business, but Arnowitz stopped by the courthouse yesterday afternoon so the warrant wasn’t put into effect. The case was continued but a new court date was not set yesterday.
Defense attorney Daniel Solomon and Assistant District Attorney Robert Shea had hoped to present Calagione with conditions of pretrial probation for the couple. The agreement, while not acknowledging any wrongdoing on Arnowitz and Kelleghan’s part, may have included the couple relinquishing care of the six horses that remain on their farm, Solomon said.
Meanwhile, members of Moses’ group are concerned about the horses’ health deteriorating the longer it takes to reach a resolution.
This summer, the prosecution worked with Moses and other horse breeders, experts and owners and proposed a temporary plan that would place Arnowitz and Kelleghan’s horses in the care of the Northeast Miniature Horse Club. While Calagione called the plan "well-intentioned and meritorious," he said he had no statutory authority to order its implementation without the couple being convicted.
The MSPCA charged Arnowitz and Kelleghan each with five counts of cruelty to animals by custodian. The MSPCA’s law enforcement division observed 27 to 30 skinny horses at the couple’s farm in late April. Tubs had low water levels, preventing many horses from drinking, the MSPCA alleged.
During the summer, the couple voluntarily removed the majority of the horses from their farm, either by selling them or placing them in the care of other breeders and owners. They have kept six of the horses, their lawyer said.
The defense has maintained the animals are being cared for better than they were at the time of the complaint, while the prosecution insists they aren’t getting proper sustenance.
MSPCA Sgt. Peter Oberton, whose agency permits him to seek a warrant to seize abused or neglected animals, has said he doesn’t believe there is sufficient probable cause to go onto Arnowitz and Kelleghan’s farm.
Moses is worried the horses will suffer in the cold, as when she visited the couple’s farm in September. She believed conditions were insufficient.
"There’s no shelter there, the last time anyone was there," she said. "The horses need to be warm, and have a constant source of fresh, unfrozen water.
"There are no consequences," Moses said. "We can’t do anything for the animals pending the outcome of these cases."
I'm pasting the article below.
Animal abuse case stalls: Upton owners of miniature horse fail to appear in court on time[/size
By Danielle Williamson / Daily News Staff
Friday, January 6, 2006 - Updated: 03:46 AM EST
MILFORD -- Several women who have worked closely with the prosecutor in a miniature horse abuse case left Milford District Court visibly discouraged yesterday, after the two defendants didn’t show up in court on time.
"It’s been very frustrating," said Cindy Moses, a Bow, N.H., resident, president of the Northeast Miniature Horse Club and chairwoman of the club’s rescue committee. "We’re not looking for punishment at this point. We just want them to put a deal together (that protects the horses)."
Upton couple Jerrold Arnowitz and Maria Kelleghan pleaded not guilty June 27 to charges of cruelty to animals by custodian. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issued a complaint June 16 against the pair for allegedly neglecting dozens of miniature horses on their Oak Drive farm. Since July, the prosecution and defense have worked to develop plans for the horses’ care while criminal charges are pending.
Arnowitz and Kelleghan did not appear in court yesterday. Reached at home, Kelleghan said she and Arnowitz had a family medical emergency and thought their court date was next week. Judge Robert Calagione issued a default warrant for the couple’s arrest if they failed to appear by the close of business, but Arnowitz stopped by the courthouse yesterday afternoon so the warrant wasn’t put into effect. The case was continued but a new court date was not set yesterday.
Defense attorney Daniel Solomon and Assistant District Attorney Robert Shea had hoped to present Calagione with conditions of pretrial probation for the couple. The agreement, while not acknowledging any wrongdoing on Arnowitz and Kelleghan’s part, may have included the couple relinquishing care of the six horses that remain on their farm, Solomon said.
Meanwhile, members of Moses’ group are concerned about the horses’ health deteriorating the longer it takes to reach a resolution.
This summer, the prosecution worked with Moses and other horse breeders, experts and owners and proposed a temporary plan that would place Arnowitz and Kelleghan’s horses in the care of the Northeast Miniature Horse Club. While Calagione called the plan "well-intentioned and meritorious," he said he had no statutory authority to order its implementation without the couple being convicted.
The MSPCA charged Arnowitz and Kelleghan each with five counts of cruelty to animals by custodian. The MSPCA’s law enforcement division observed 27 to 30 skinny horses at the couple’s farm in late April. Tubs had low water levels, preventing many horses from drinking, the MSPCA alleged.
During the summer, the couple voluntarily removed the majority of the horses from their farm, either by selling them or placing them in the care of other breeders and owners. They have kept six of the horses, their lawyer said.
The defense has maintained the animals are being cared for better than they were at the time of the complaint, while the prosecution insists they aren’t getting proper sustenance.
MSPCA Sgt. Peter Oberton, whose agency permits him to seek a warrant to seize abused or neglected animals, has said he doesn’t believe there is sufficient probable cause to go onto Arnowitz and Kelleghan’s farm.
Moses is worried the horses will suffer in the cold, as when she visited the couple’s farm in September. She believed conditions were insufficient.
"There’s no shelter there, the last time anyone was there," she said. "The horses need to be warm, and have a constant source of fresh, unfrozen water.
"There are no consequences," Moses said. "We can’t do anything for the animals pending the outcome of these cases."
