First blog post!
Assuming my Monthly Letters are not enough, I thought I would start sharing some of my “stories from the road”. I have been all over South East Detroit visiting pet supply stores and now attending Linda Springborn’s hearings. This is where we start learning about prosecution and the laws surrounding our breeders.
Ms. Springborns hearing was a little different from the others I heard in the Brighton Court house this Wednesday, as she was not allowed to plead guilty, not guilty or mute. She is faced with a felony. Her case was listed as Abandonment and Cruelty because more than 10 animals were involved. Magistrate Brian Brown did not read the details of her case, but you can go here to find out more.
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/16314/MI/US/
On April 8th, the authorities had discovered she had failed to provide adequate care for the animals. She is facing 4 years in prison, $5000 fine and 500 hours of community service or a combination of them all. In addition she will need a psychological evaluation and prepay the costs for veterinary care.
She will be provided a court appointed attorney (Miriam Cavanagh) and her Pre-Exam meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 12th at 1 p.m. Howell District Court.
Magistrate Brown asked Ms. Springborn if she had any prior record. She quietly stated “Yes”. She told the court she had stolen a license plate. He asked her if she had any further confrontations with the law. She said she was convicted of retail fraud.
He posted her bond at $10,000. She is not allowed to own or poses animals during the court proceedings.
I am fairly sure Ms. Springborn saw my “Stop Puppy Mills” t-shirt as I was sitting in the front row of the courtroom. I was kinda hard to miss with the video camera too, but she casually read her documents and passed on by.
If you would like to read our letter to the prosecutor, go to our Meetup Message board.
Ms. Springborns hearing was a little different from the others I heard in the Brighton Court house this Wednesday, as she was not allowed to plead guilty, not guilty or mute. She is faced with a felony. Her case was listed as Abandonment and Cruelty because more than 10 animals were involved. Magistrate Brian Brown did not read the details of her case, but you can go here to find out more.
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/16314/MI/US/
On April 8th, the authorities had discovered she had failed to provide adequate care for the animals. She is facing 4 years in prison, $5000 fine and 500 hours of community service or a combination of them all. In addition she will need a psychological evaluation and prepay the costs for veterinary care.
She will be provided a court appointed attorney (Miriam Cavanagh) and her Pre-Exam meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 12th at 1 p.m. Howell District Court.
Magistrate Brown asked Ms. Springborn if she had any prior record. She quietly stated “Yes”. She told the court she had stolen a license plate. He asked her if she had any further confrontations with the law. She said she was convicted of retail fraud.
He posted her bond at $10,000. She is not allowed to own or poses animals during the court proceedings.
I am fairly sure Ms. Springborn saw my “Stop Puppy Mills” t-shirt as I was sitting in the front row of the courtroom. I was kinda hard to miss with the video camera too, but she casually read her documents and passed on by.
If you would like to read our letter to the prosecutor, go to our Meetup Message board.
5/13 I just called the court house to see when her next appointment was scheduled since I missed her pre-exam yesterday. She failed to show so now there is a warrant.
ReplyDeleteI did find out from Ann that all the dogs have been adopted out in the Livingston County shelter. Not sure about Ingham.
The sad part is that when they lock her up her "care & wellbeing" will be of a higher standard than the dogs she housed.
ReplyDeleteFor an update on this case go to our Message Board. http://www.meetup.com/puppymillawareness/messages/boards/thread/14385461
ReplyDelete