A 45-year-old Surprise woman is behind bars on the afternoon of Aug 2 for felony animal abuse. Lindsey Smith with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said it's one of the worst cases she's seen in years.
"Originally eight horses - three were put down immediately due to starvation issues, physical abuse - really nasty stuff," she said.
Cynthia Voss originally faced misdemeanor charges but after careful review of the situation, she now faces more series charges. Case UpdatesCynthia Karen Voss has pleaded guilty to two counts of animal cruelty and faces a term of probation.
Voss, 45, was accused of causing serious physical injury, including weight loss, infection and pain, to 11 horses that were under her care last year.
Voss was indicted Aug. 1 by a Maricopa County grand jury on four felony and 11 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, authorities said. advertisement
Late last month, Voss pleaded guilty to two of the felony counts after striking a deal with prosecutors for dismissal of the remaining charges.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, she will be placed on supervised probation when she is sentenced Dec. 4 in Maricopa County Superior Court.
In addition, Voss may not care for any horses, except for three, Rosie, Butters and Jake, that are for her family's personal use, court records show.
And she is prohibited from owning, managing or operating animal kind of animal shelter, rescue or adoption group.
Furthermore, she may be held liable for as much as $50,000 in restitution resulting from an animal-cruelty investigation that was launched last year by sheriff's deputies.
If she successfully completes probation, the two felony charges may be designated by the court as misdemeanors.
Voss' ranch, 23010 N. 185th Ave., northwest of U.S. 60 and Loop 303, was operated by Hooved Animal Society of Arizona Inc. It was raided by deputies on Oct. 25.
Investigators described some of the hoses there as neglected and sickly. They said three of 52 had to be euthanized and five others removed for treatment.
Voss was sentenced Jan. 28, 2004, to a two-year term of unsupervised probation after a Yavapai county conviction on a misdemeanor charge of animal abuse, court records show. | Source: Arizona Republic - Nov 8, 2006
Update posted on Nov 8, 2006 - 11:00AM |
Prosecutors have filed renewed animal-cruelty charges against a Surprise woman who operates a horse-rescue charity.
Cynthia Karen Voss, 45, is accused of causing serious physical injury, including weight loss, infection and pain, to 11 horses that were under her care last year, Thomas said.
Voss was indicted Aug. 1 by a Maricopa County grand jury on four felony and 11 misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty. The charges are more serious than those she was booked on when initally arrested. advertisement
"We will pursue this case vigorously," Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said in announcing the charges. "It is shocking that any person could be so cruel to helpless animals."
Deputies raided her Surprise ranch Oct. 25 and described some of the horses there as neglected and sickly. They said three of 52 had to be euthanized and five others were removed for treatment.
She was booked on 10 counts of misdemeanor cruelty, but those charges were dropped May 25 in the Hassayampa Justice Court pending further investigation.
Voss' ranch, 23010 N. 185th Ave., northwest of U.S. 60 and Loop 303, is operated by Hooved Animal Society of Arizona Inc.
Voss is free pending trial. She declined comment about the latest charges when reached by telephone Friday.
Court records show Voss was sentenced Jan. 28, 2004, to a two-year term of unsupervised probation after a Yavapai County conviction on a misdemeanor charge of animal abuse.
A pretrial conference in the latest case against Voss is set for Sept. 15 in Maricopa County Superior Court. | Source: The Arizona Republic - Aug 15, 2006
Update posted on Sep 1, 2006 - 2:48PM |
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