A 61-year-old Hutchinson area woman charged in three cases for animal cruelty entered no contest pleas Tuesday in two of the cases and the state dropped the third. Linda Sue Adams was then sentenced to 12-months probation, on a 12-month sentence even though the state was asking the 12-months be served in the county jail.
The case involved cruelty to horses on her property in what the state called on going conduct since 2009. It came to a head back in April when three dead horses were found on the property and 10 others were said to be starving. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Davidson told the court of three dead horses being found on the property in various stages of decomposition and others where you could see their rib bones. He says once they were seized and given food, they immediately started to gain weight.
Adams told the court that she has tried to take care of the horses and denies the states contention that she never fed them. She told the judge that one of the dead horses had actually died on another property and that she moved the carcass on her property in hopes of disposing of the remains. She says another one died of simple old age, while the third froze to death when it laid down under a fence and couldn’t get back up. She also blamed her ex-husband for some of the financial problems and taking care of the animals back in 2009. She says she is garnishing money from him now to get some of the money she owed.
Adams will be required to pay restitution to the county and also will not be allowed to have any horses while on probation. There is a still a civil action into the case in front of Judge Tim Chambers. The amount of restitution is yet to be determined. She apparently gave up rights to at least 3-horses which will be sold and any money from the sale of the horses will go toward the restitution.
The other cases occurred in 2009 and 2011. The state had dropped the 2009 case, then refiled it, but with the plea Tuesday, dropped it again. The state also agree to not seek to revoke her community corrections for an aggravated burglary conviction from 2009.