County must pay for horsesWrite your letters today, and be sure to impress upon Jackson County that its taxpayers do not wish to fund an appeal ... tell the prosecution to give it up already.
By Bill Chapin
Jackson Citizen Patriot
May 17, 2008 08:00AM
Categories: Top Stories
Jackson County will have to pay the owner of the horses seized from a Grass Lake Township farm last year for his lost property, a Circuit judge ruled Friday.
Jackson County will have to pay the owner of the horses seized from a Grass Lake Township farm last year for his lost property, a Circuit judge ruled Friday.
Judge Thomas Wilson said last year's district court decision by Judge Joseph Filip ordering James Henderson to forfeit his herd based on allegations of animal cruelty was improper. The civil case was returned to the district court to determine the amount owed to Henderson, which could include not only the value of the 69 original horses, but the value of more than 10 foals born after the seizure, lost stud fees and other lost income.
Matt Mercier, who managed the herd, said he estimates the fair-market value to be about $500,000. The county sold most of the horses at auctions in the fall for about $50,000.
Henderson and Mercier still face misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. Felony torture charges against them were dismissed on April 30.
Friday's ruling "vindicates Jim Henderson (and shows) that Jackson County didn't do a proper investigation when they started this thing," Mercier said, "and it should never have gotten this far."
County prosecutors say they plan to appeal the decision.
"We respectfully believe the judge erred in his decision," said Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer. "We believe the forfeiture was a proper order from the court."
In his ruling, Wilson said Henderson may have owned the animals but did not have "charge or custody" of them "and was in fact an innocent owner in these circumstances." Wilson said there was a lack of evidence about how much direct involvement Henderson had with their care.
Wilson also said he was given no details on sections of damaged fencing through which horses had escaped, including whether any steps were being taken to repair it.
"Even looking at it in a light most favorable to the prosecution, that would not be enough for me to find that there was a failure to provide adequate care," he said.
"Even if I was to find Mr. Henderson in some way vicariously in custody of the animals, that there was a failure to provide adequate care as defined in the statutes, that should apply to 13 of the 69 horses."
Testimony in the case indicated the other 56 horses were in OK condition when the county took control of the Turn-3 Ranch in March 2007.
The county has spent more than $133,000 on the case, not including prosecution costs.
"This thing's been ugly from the get-go," Mercier said. "They should never have handled this case the way they did.
"Jim Henderson can start rebuilding what Jackson County took from him."
-- Staff writer Holly Klaft contributed to this story.
Taxpayers have had enough!
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