Case Snapshot
| Case ID: 9301 |
| Classification: Hoarding |
| Animal: dog (non pit-bull) |
| More cases in Berkeley County, WV |
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| Person(s) in animal care |
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Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Matthew Harvey |
| Defense(s): | Paul G. Taylor |
| Judge(s): | Joan V. Bragg, Christopher C. Wilkes |
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Tuesday, Jul 11, 2006
County: BerkeleyCharges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Mara Spade
Case Updates: 7 update(s) available
A West Virginia woman who arranged adoptions for hundreds of dogs at several Loudoun County pet stores and a local veterinary clinic has been charged with animal cruelty.
Animal control officials in Berkeley County, W.Va., charged Mara Spade, 61, on July 11 with keeping 149 dogs in inhumane conditions at Second Chance, the nonprofit animal shelter she operated near Harlan Spring Road there. Spade allegedly kept 60 to 80 of the dogs confined together with only two bowls of water and insufficient food, said Berkeley County animal control officer Donna McMahan. A search of the property last month revealed that conditions at Spade's kennel were so bad that many of the dogs were malnourished and in poor health, McMahan said.
"It was disgusting," McMahan said. "I was appalled by anyone calling themselves a rescuer and keeping those animals like that."
Spade's attorney, Paul Taylor, said his client, who was released on $2,000 bond, has done nothing wrong. She paid for the dogs' care out of her pocket to keep them from being euthanized, he said.
"There's no abuse. She may be a little overwhelmed, but she is not a cruel person by any definition," Taylor said. "I think it would devastate her if she was forced to shut down the shelter."
Loudoun authorities said Spade, of Inwood, W.Va., charged people $200 to $500 to adopt the dogs and arranged the adoptions through deals with several Loudoun PetSmart and Petco stores and a local veterinary clinic.
Loudoun County Department of Animal Care and Control director Thomas Koenig said his agency had received nine complaints about Spade and the dogs since 2003. All but one complaint was resolved without incident. Last month, a Loudoun animal control officer issued Spade a written warning in Leesburg after several dogs were left unattended in a closed van that she used to transport the animals, authorities said.
Koenig said no charges are pending against Spade in Loudoun.
"We've received complaints about her. We've responded to them, and she's gotten herself into compliance," Koenig said.
McMahan said her agency had tried for several years to inspect Spade's property but received a search warrant only in June. The search revealed that many of the dogs suffered from worms, malnutrition and infections, she said. Several had festering bite marks and puncture wounds.
If found guilty of the animal cruelty charge in Berkeley, Spade could be sentenced to up to six months in jail, be fined up to $2,000, or both. Berkeley County authorities said Friday that the investigation into Spade's animal shelter is ongoing.
A Berkeley County magistrate ordered county animal control officials to take custody of the dogs. Most are being housed at the county shelter, and some local families have also agreed to take dogs in temporarily, McMahan said. There is no plan to euthanize any of the dogs, and animal control officials hope they'll be adopted.
"Most of them are pretty good dogs as far as their temperament and demeanor," McMahan said.
Case Updates
| A restitution hearing will be held to determine what an Inwood, W.Va., woman will pay for the Berkeley County Animal Control’s care of 149 dogs seized from a canine shelter in a 2006 animal cruelty case. The hearing ordered in the state’s case against Mara Spade, 65, was part of a decision filed Friday by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, which reversed 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes’ decision and sent the case back to Berkeley County Magistrate Court. “It is clear to this court that the appellant entered into a valid plea agreement that required a restitution hearing to be held soon thereafter (in magistrate court) and this was specifically agreed to by all parties,” the Supreme Court concluded. “It is further clear that such a hearing did not occur. As such, the circuit court abused its discretion in affirming the magistrate court's order.” Spade pleaded no contest in 2007 to one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty in magistrate court and was ordered to pay $114,883 in restitution for the care of the dogs seized from Second Chance Rescue, the nonprofit, no-kill dog rescue shelter she said she started in Berkeley County in 1996. Spade said the shelter was dedicated to sheltering, caring for, and placing abandoned and homeless dogs that are often refused by other shelters, according to court records. Many of the dogs arrived at the shelter with existing health problems, and the appellant contends that she would attempt to nurse the animals back to health at her own expense, according to court records. In a sentencing hearing in February 2008, Spade was ordered by Berkeley County Magistrate Joan V. Bragg not to have any contact with animals for five years and was placed on two years of probation. A 90-day jail sentence was suspended. In March 2008, Bragg ordered Spade to pay the restitution, which defense attorney Paul Taylor again questioned in an interview Friday. “We had a (plea) deal that she didn’t get the benefit of,” Taylor said. Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher C. Quasebarth said Friday that the prosecuting attorney’s office would renew their argument that the restitution amount was the actual reasonable costs incurred in providing care, medical treatment and provisions to the animals seized. The state based its restitution claim on a $5 daily fee charged for each seized dog's care and veterinary services that amounted to $164,883 while they were in the custody of Berkeley County Animal Control, according to court records. The animal cruelty charge stemmed from a veterinarian's visit to the Second Chance Rescue on June 29, 2006. The shelter had "inadequate ventilation, horrible sanitation, inadequate water and food," the veterinarian wrote in a handwritten statement. Five dogs died while in the county's custody, officials have said. |
| Source: The Herald-Mail - Jun 4, 2010 Update posted on Jun 10, 2010 - 6:21PM |
| A Berkeley County woman who was convicted of animal cruelty for her treatment of 149 dogs at a shelter she was operating in 2006 is challenging the $114,883 in restitution she was ordered to pay in an appeal to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. In a 5-0 decision in favor of Mara Spade, 64, of Inwood, W.Va., the state’s high court on Oct. 8 agreed to consider arguments by her attorney, Paul G. Taylor. The case is not expected to be taken up by the high court until the January 2010 term of court based on general court scheduling practices, according to public information officer Jennifer Bundy. In his petition, Taylor argued Spade was denied due process and claimed the prosecutor who handled the case breached a plea agreement by not holding a hearing to determine how much Spade owed for the care of the dogs while in custody of Berkeley County Animal Control. Taylor is seeking a refund of bond money that Spade posted for the care of the dogs while the animals were in state custody as well as a restitution hearing that he contends was part of a plea agreement with his client. Spade in December 2007 entered a no-contest plea to one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals, which she had been charged with in June 2006. She was ordered by Magistrate Joan V. Bragg to pay $114,883 in restitution for the county’s care of the dogs, which were seized from Second Chance Rescue Inc. beginning in May 2006 and kept through February 2007. “The big fight will be and always has been the restitution,” Taylor said in an interview this week. Taylor said the restitution that was ordered in magistrate court was “ruinous” since his client was only charged with one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty. The restitution ordered was upheld in an August 2008 ruling by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes, according to court records. Wilkes cited state Rules of Criminal Procedure that he said didn’t provide an avenue for Spade to file the appeal after she entered a no-contest plea, according to court records. Taylor in his appeal of Wilkes’ decision argued that the criminal procedure rule didn’t pertain to the denial of a restitution hearing for Spade. In a sentencing hearing in February 2008, Bragg also ordered Spade not to have any contact with animals for five years and was placed on two years of probation. A 90-day jail sentence was suspended. Former assistant prosecuting attorney Matthew Harvey argued Taylor had the right to contest the amount of expenses that Berkeley County Animal Control said it incurred from the time the first dog was seized from the shelter off Harlan Springs Road in May 2006, but that was not challenged within the deadline for an appeal. Taylor argued his client entered the no-contest plea with the understanding she would be able to contest the state’s restitution claim. Dogs remaining in the custody of Animal Control at the end of February 2007 were released from custody to other agencies or placed in foster care after Spade failed to post a court-ordered bond to cover $114,883.77 in “actual expenses.” A veterinarian who visited Second Chance Rescue on June 29, 2006, reported the shelter had “inadequate ventilation, horrible sanitation, inadequate water and food,” according to court records. The veterinarian said one dog bit him during his visit and noted that a number of dogs had open wounds, poor skin and coats, and exhibited lameness. Five dogs died while in the county’s custody, officials have said. |
| Source: Herald-Mail - Nov 5, 2009 Update posted on Nov 9, 2009 - 2:43AM |
| The conviction of an Inwood, W.Va., woman who was ordered to pay $114,883 in restitution for Berkeley County Animal Control's care of 149 dogs seized from a canine shelter in 2006 has been upheld by a state trial court judge. The appeal filed by attorney Paul G. Taylor on behalf of Mara Spade, 63, was dismissed by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes on Aug. 8, according to an order filed Monday with Berkeley County Circuit Clerk Virginia Sine's office. Wilkes cited a section of the state Rules of Criminal Procedure, which he said didn't provide an avenue for Spade to file the appeal after she entered a no-contest plea to one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty in December 2007. Individuals convicted of a misdemeanor in a magistrate court can appeal their convictions to circuit court unless they are represented by legal counsel at the time a guilty plea is entered, according to the code section cited by Wilkes in his order. In a sentencing hearing Feb. 4, Spade was ordered by Berkeley County Magistrate Joan V. Bragg not to have any contact with animals for five years and was placed on two years of probation. A 90-day jail sentence was suspended. In March, Bragg ordered Spade to pay the restitution, which Taylor said he intended to challenge during the February hearing. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Harvey argued in March that Taylor had the right to contest the amount of expenses the county said it incurred from the time the first of 149 dogs at Second Chance Rescue Inc. off Harlan Springs Road was seized in May 2006 until the end of February 2007, but it was never challenged and the defendant missed the deadline for an appeal. Taylor argued that his client entered the no-contest plea with the understanding that she would be able to contest the state's restitution claim. The dogs were released from the county's custody at the end of February 2007 after Spade failed to post a court-ordered bond to cover $114,883.77 in "actual expenses." The state based its restitution claim on a $5 daily fee charged for each seized dog's care and veterinary services that amounted to $164,883 while they were in the custody of Berkeley County Animal Control, according to court records. It was not immediately clear whether Taylor would again appeal his client's case to the state's high court. The animal cruelty charge stemmed from a veterinarian's visit to the Second Chance Rescue on June 29, 2006. The shelter had "inadequate ventilation, horrible sanitation, inadequate water and food," the veterinarian wrote in a handwritten statement. Five dogs died while in the county's custody, officials have said. |
| Source: Herald-Mail Aug 13, 2008 Update posted on Aug 13, 2008 - 10:00PM |
| A Berkeley County magistrate on Wednesday ordered a woman to pay $114,883 in restitution for the county's care of 149 dogs that were seized from a canine shelter in 2006 after authorities found evidence of animal cruelty there. Magistrate Joan V. Bragg last month sentenced Mara Spade, 63, of Inwood, W.Va., to two years of probation and ordered her not to have any contact with animals for five years after she entered a no-contest plea in December to a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty. Bragg on Wednesday granted a motion by county assistant prosecuting attorney Matthew L. Harvey to order the restitution, which he argued was already established in previous magistrate and circuit court orders concerning the case. Spade's attorney, Paul G. Taylor, said after the hearing that he intended to contest Bragg's decision - either by withdrawing the no-contest plea or appealing the case to circuit court. "If the court's not going to give her a restitution hearing, then she would like a new trial," Taylor told Bragg. In the February sentencing hearing, Taylor told Bragg he wanted to reserve the right to contest the amount of restitution the state alleged that his client owed for the care of the animals while the animal cruelty case was still pending against Spade. Harvey said Wednesday that Taylor had the right to contest the amount of expenses the county said it incurred from the time the first dogs at Second Chance Rescue Inc. off Harlan Springs Road were seized in May 2006 until the end of February 2007. "It was never challenged," Harvey told Bragg. "They had that right and they missed (the deadline for an appeal). Taylor argued on Wednesday that his client entered the no-contest plea with the understanding that she would be able to contest the state's restitution claim. The dogs were released from the county's custody at the end of February 2007 after Spade failed to post a court-ordered bond to cover $114,883.77 in "actual expenses" and another $25,000 for anticipated care covering 30 more days. The state based its restitution claim on a $5 daily fee charged for each seized dog's care and other expenses, including veterinary services that amounted to $164,883 while they were in the custody of Berkeley County Animal Control, according to court records. Spade posted two $25,000 bonds to pay for the dogs' care and retained the opportunity to regain custody of the canines pending the outcome of the case, which was appealed to Berkeley County Circuit court and the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. After a magistrate court hearing in February 2007, Spade said she could not post a bond for the cost of the dogs' care through the end of March, which county officials projected would have amounted to about $139,000 in expenses. By February 2007, Spade had relinquished the opportunity to regain custody of 50 of the canines and five others had died since they were seized, officials had said. The animal cruelty charge stemmed from a veterinarian's visit to the Second Chance Rescue on June 29, 2006, and his observations about the dogs' physical appearance and the conditions of the shelter. The shelter had "inadequate ventilation, horrible sanitation, inadequate water and food," the veterinarian wrote in a handwritten statement. The doctor also said he observed a "multiple number of dogs with open wounds and lameness (and) puppies exhibiting 'pot bellies' and diarrhea," according to court records. Animal Control officials reported finding the carcass of a dog that was decomposing "with small white worms crawling on it" at the shelter, according to court records. |
| Source: Herald-Mail - March 27, 2008 Update posted on Mar 27, 2008 - 3:08PM |
| The former operator of a canine shelter in Berkeley County pleaded no contest Monday to a charge of animal cruelty that alleged she mistreated many, if not all, of the 149 dogs seized from the facility. The plea signed by Mara Spade, 62, of 386 Gunpowder Lane, Inwood, W.Va., means a trial that was scheduled to begin today, almost 17 months after she was arrested July 12, 2006, on one count of animal cruelty, will not be held. A sentencing hearing was not immediately scheduled, but is expected to be held in about 60 days, court officials said. The Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney's office has recommended presiding Magistrate Joan V. Bragg place Spade on probation. Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Harvey confirmed Monday the office would seek restitution for the county's care of the dogs. "We have other interests beside (the money)," Harvey said of the $114,883 that court records show is owed to the county. Harvey said any money recovered in the case "certainly would help out." The $5 daily fee charged for each seized dog's care and other expenses, including veterinary services, amounted to $164,883 while they were in the custody of Berkeley County Animal Control from May 2006 to March 2007, according to court records. Spade initially posted two $25,000 bonds to pay for the dogs' care and retained the opportunity to regain custody of the canines pending the outcome of the case after the first four or five animals were seized May 24, 2006. Appeals to the circuit court and the state's high court continued the case into November 2006, and after a magistrate court hearing in February 2007, Spade said "the well is dry" and indicated she could not post a $139,883 bond that projected the cost of the dogs' care through the end of March. By that time, Spade had "relinquished" the opportunity to regain custody of 50 of the canines, and five others died, officials had said. The animal cruelty charge filed against Spade stemmed from a June 29, 2006, visit by a veterinarian to the Second Chance Rescue shelter off Harlan Springs Road. The animal doctor reported that many of the dogs appeared lame. Others had poor skin and haircoats and open wounds, and were in pens that had inadequate ventilation, sanitation, water and food. After Spade was arrested July 12, 2006, Bragg found probable cause that the dogs seized were not receiving proper care and ordered Spade to post a $25,000 bond to cover the cost of caring for the animals over a 30-day period. Appeals of the magistrate's ruling were made to circuit court and then to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, which in November 2006 refused to prevent the enforcement of the lower court orders. Last month, Bragg revoked and forfeited Spade's $2,000 personal recognizance bond after Harvey presented the magistrate with evidence that alleged Spade violated her bail agreement because she had possession of more dogs. Bragg later reinstated Spade's bond but ordered Spade to not have any domesticated animals - dogs and cats - in her possession and not have any contact by feeding, watering or mending fences, according to the magistrate's order. Spade's attorney, Paul G. Taylor, could not be immediately reached for comment. A conviction for animal cruelty carries a sentence of up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine, according to state law. Per state law, Spade must undergo a psychological evaluation at her own expense before the hearing before any probation can be ordered, Harvey confirmed. |
| Source: Herald-Mail - Dec 3, 2007 Update posted on Dec 3, 2007 - 11:54PM |
| After spending four nights in Eastern Regional Jail, an Inwood, W.Va., woman charged with animal cruelty last year was released on a new bond set Wednesday by a Berkeley County magistrate who had her locked up for apparently violating her previous bail agreement. Magistrate Joan V. Bragg set a $2,000 bond for Mara Spade, 62, of 386 Gunpowder Lane, and expounded on a previous bail condition that the woman have no animals in her possession. The animal cruelty charge stems from allegations filed in June 2006 that claim Spade was mistreating 149 dogs at a canine shelter she operated off Harlan Springs Road. "Defendant shall not have any domesticated animals (dogs and cats) in her possession (at her residence) and shall not have any contact ... by feeding, watering ... or mending any fencing ..." Bragg said in the new bail agreement, which was signed Wednesday by Spade. On Nov. 2, Bragg signed an order revoking and forfeiting Spade's $2,000 personal recognizance bond after a Berkeley County assistant prosecuting attorney indicated in a motion that he obtained evidence Spade had violated the previous bail agreement that was in effect until Spade is tried on the animal cruelty charge on Dec. 4. Residents told a Berkeley County Animal Control officer in affidavits that Spade was caring for more than a dozen dogs at 556 Gerrardstown Road, a property that courthouse records indicate the woman purchased in December 2006. Investigators have said they counted 37 dogs last week. Spade denied in an interview last week that she was operating another canine rescue since Second Chance Rescue Inc. essentially was shut down last year. In a June 29, 2006, visit to Second Chance Rescue, investigators said they saw several canines that exhibited lameness and poor skin and haircoats and open wounds, according to court records. |
| Source: Herald Mail - Nov 9, 2007 Update posted on Nov 9, 2007 - 1:45PM |
| The former operator of a canine shelter was ordered on Feb 21 in Berkeley County Magistrate Court to post a $139,883 bond for the county's care of dozens of dogs that allegedly were victims of animal cruelty last year and removed from the facility. The order signed by Magistrate Joan V. Bragg and 23rd Judicial Circuit judge David H. Sanders gives Second Chance Rescue Inc. operator Mara Spade until 5 p.m. Feb. 28 to post the bond or Berkeley County Animal Control officers will have the discretion to dispose of 94 of the 149 canines initially seized between May and July 2006. Fifty dogs have been "relinquished" by Spade and Animal Control, and five others died, officials said in a magistrate court pretrial hearing Wednesday. "She can't post any additional bonds," said Spade's attorney, Paul G. Taylor, after Bragg denied his motions to suppress search warrants before a jury trial that has yet to be scheduled. Charged with one count of animal cruelty, Spade, of 386 Gunpowder Lane, Inwood, W.Va., previously posted two, $25,000 bonds for the care of the dogs and to retain the opportunity to regain custody of them. "The well is dry," Spade said when asked if she would be able to post the $139,883 bond that would cover expenses that have mounted since May 24, 2006, and projected costs through the end of March. Actual expenses incurred through Feb. 28, 2007, were expected to amount to $114,883, according to the signed court order prepared by Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher C. Quasebarth. Another $25,000 was added to the bond for the animals' care for 30 days beyond the Feb. 28 deadline. After the hearing, Quasebarth could not say what action the county may take if the bond isn't posted. He indicated that attempts would be made to find new homes for the dogs. Taylor said after the pretrial hearing that any suggestion that his client was cruel to animals was "ridiculous." In a June 29, 2006, visit to the Second Chance Rescue shelter off Harlan Springs Road, a Martinsburg-area veterinarian reported seeing numerous dogs exhibiting lameness, poor skin and haircoats, and open wounds in pens that had inadequate ventilation, sanitation, water and food. "It would be my recommendation to remove dogs from this location," Todd V. Sauble concluded in a statement filed in magistrate court. In a July 2006 hearing, Bragg found probable cause that the dogs seized were not receiving proper care and ordered Spade to pay a $25,000 bond to cover the cost of caring for the animals over a 30-day period. Since Bragg's ruling July 19, the case was appealed to circuit court and then to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. In a 3-2 decision in November, the state's high court refused to prevent the enforcement of the lower court orders that Spade post the bond for the dogs' care. |
| Source: Herald-Mail - Feb 22, 2007 Update posted on Feb 27, 2007 - 1:13AM |
References
- « WV State Animal Cruelty Map
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