Sentence Reduced In Appeal For Horse Cruelty Charges

Carcasses from five horses were discovered on the property.

 
A Water Valley man convicted on 19 animal cruelty charges in justice court on April 15 was able to plead to guilty to a single count in an appeal in circuit court last month.
    Ollie Judson received a suspended 30-day jail sentence, a $100 fine and was ordered to pay restitution totaling $1,900 in a negotiated plea agreement with County Prosecutor Gail Barton and his attorney, James Powell III. Powell is employed by Horan & Horan in Grenada.
    Circuit Judge Jimmy McClure handed down the sentence during court on Sept. 15.
    The restitution will be paid to In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection organization. Director of IDA’s Hope Animal Sanctuary Doll Stanley documented 19 malnourished horses back in February. Stanley seized the horses and filed charges against Judson in justice court.
    During the April 15 hearing, Judson pled no contest to 19 counts of confining creatures without food or water in justice court, but appealed after he was sentenced in April to 50 days in jail, plus a $100 fine and court costs totaling almost $4,000.
    Judson was able to avoid the jail time imposed in justice court after appealing the sentence. McClure ordered the 30-day jail sentence to be suspended pending good behavior from Judson for six months.
    McClure also allowed Judson to be credited toward the fines, restitution, costs and assessments that he had previously paid justice court prior to appeal along with the cost of the appeal in circuit court.