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Case #5200 Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Horse neglect - 1 seized, 1 died
Pittsboro, NC (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jul 27, 2005
County: Chatham
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Joey Fitzgerald Farrar
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A defendant waiting in court for a hearing on animal cruelty charges was charged with contempt of court after he yelled at a lawyer who wouldn't help him. District Court Judge James A. Harrill Jr. sentenced Joey Fitzgerald Farrar, 41, of Pittsboro, to seven days in jail on July 27 after Farrar shouted "I'll jack you up!" to a lawyer who would not help him get the attention of either his own lawyer or a district attorney.
Farrar yelled before the judge was on the bench.
The defendant was charged with two counts of starving horses. One of the animals died.
Farrar said he got upset when he realized he wouldn't get back his other horse, which a judge last month gave to a Chatham County horse rescue group.
Case UpdatesIn June, the Finish Line Foundation was granted permanent custody of some of the horses in Chatham County district civil court. On Wednesday, Aug 3, her former owner, Joey Fitzgerald Farrar, 41, of 180 N.C. 87 North pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty in criminal court.
Calling Rosa's case "appalling," "outrageous" and "inexcusable," Orange-Chatham District Court Judge Pat Devine said she wished the law would let her impose greater punishment than she did.
"It is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty that this court has ever seen, and I suspect the people of Chatham County have ever seen," Devine said.
In the plea, Farrar agreed not to own or take care of horses for two years while on probation. He also agreed to pay a $300 fine and reimburse Chatham County animal control for $250 in vet bills.
Rosa, then called Cheyenne, was one of two horses found on Farrar's property May 17. The other was dead.
Both were tethered to trees in a dirt creek bed where they couldn't graze. Food in bins was either covered or out of reach. Water came from a stream down a steep incline almost impossible for the horses to reach.
The other horse died in the stream. Mitchell-Horne said it was so weak that it couldn't raise its head after it stumbled. It drowned in just a few inches of water.
But in an interview, Farrar told a different story. He said he loves animals, especially horses, and would train them. At the Pittsboro Christmas parade, Farrar would dress up like a cowboy and ride his horse.
But in November he fell on bad times, first being diagnosed with diabetes. Because of the illness, he had to end his job as a long-distance trucker and was out of work for the winter. To pay child support, he started feeding Rosa less food. The other horse wasn't his, he said.
"Every chance I got, I would try to buy some food," Farrar said.
Rosa has fattened up nicely in the nearly three months since arriving, almost starved, at the Finish Line Foundation's horse sanctuary in Chatham County. She now weighs a healthy 1,150 pounds, about 2 1/2 times the 450 pounds she weighed when Chatham County animal control found the 10-year-old mare. | Source: News Observer - Aug 4, 2005
Update posted on Aug 7, 2005 - 1:26AM |
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