A Russell woman was arrested and ordered by a Lauderdale County judge Monday afternoon to never own horses or cattle after a hearing regarding her alleged treatment of seven horses formerly in her care.
Tina Marie Hall, 41, of 1319 Steven Boulevard, was taken into custody by deputies of the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department and charged with six counts of animal confinement/deprivement of food or water. She was placed on $3,500 bond. She later bonded out of jail.
Lauderdale County Judge Frank Coleman also ordered Hall to pay $2,500 to Coyote Hills Stable. The animal rescue organization is currently caring for the seven horses. Coleman ordered the ownership of the horses be transferred to Kim Blanton who is owner of the stables.
Coleman said in the order handed down during the hearing that Hall was denied possession of horses and to never own other horses or cattle. One other horse owned by Hall, according to the court document, was also seized from a different property. Coleman said in the order the conditions in which the horses were forced to endure were totally preventable and inexcusable.
The hearing Monday was the civil side of the case. The charges in which Hall was arrested are part of the criminal aspect of the case. Hall has yet to appear before a judge concerning the criminal charges. Lauderdale County Attorney Justin Cobb said Tuesday morning Hall could face up to six months in jail for each of the six charges against her.
"This is a misdemeanor crime," Cobb said. "This was very disturbing to see the condition of these animals. They didn't do anything wrong but the outcome of all this is the horses won't have to go back into those same conditions."
In the order signed by Coleman, the judge ruled the covered barbed wire pens were much too small for the size and number of horses being kept there. This confinement, he said in the order, led to the horses standing in their own waste for weeks at a time thereby contracting infections and other illnesses and suffering from malnutrition.
Last week the last of the horses was removed from the Hall's property after reports of alleged animal abuse was reported by county officials and concerned citizens. Coleman said in the court documents testimony was heard by him from several witnesses who all agreed the conditions in which the horses were kept constituted maltreatment, and at the very least, severe neglect.
Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department Chief Dep. Ward Calhoun said at the time county authorities were notified of the complaints and an investigation was initiated concerning the alleged abuse. Calhoun said officials of the department seized the horses after the county attorney drew up the seizure papers and they were signed by a judge.
Officials with the LCSD then turned the horses over to the East Mississippi Animal Rescue League. The seven horses were then transferred to Coyote Hills Stable where they have been cared for ever since.
Cobb said a hearing for Hall on the criminal charges for animal cruelty will likely be held in a couple of months.
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Judge orders woman to never own horses again
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City cuts payment to Watkins
The Meridian City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to cut their monthly payment to David Watkins, project developer of Meridian's new police station, by $9,999 until work resumes on the project.
The order, made during the Meridian City Council meeting Tuesday morning, included a mutual agreement between the councilmen and Watkins to reduce the project developer's monthly consultant fee of $10,000 to $1, effective Tuesday. -
Crews work on gasoline pipeline
If you hear a loud, booming sound early today, between 4 a.m.-10 a.m., there is no cause for alarm.
Workers with Plantation Pipeline will be performing maintenance work on their 30-foot gasoline pipeline in the Meridian area to accommodate the widening of Highway 493. The location of the work activity will be at Highway 493 North and Oak Hill Baptist Church, just inside the city limits. -
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High Honor
The flowers and balloons Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick received at school Monday were not an early Valentines' Day gift.
Kendrick has been named Meridian Public School District's 2012 Administrator of the Year – an announcement that both surprised and wowed the 17-year veteran educator when made by MPSD Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor. -
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Digital system promises better communication
Hopefully in the near future you won't hear someone in the emergency services ask over the radio, "Can you hear me now?"
A digital communications system, one which is being pushed by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), is a few months away and, in some cases, is already in the testing phase in Lauderdale County. -
Inmate escapes custody
Mississippi Department of Corrections officials said Monday afternoon an inmate escaped from custody Friday and is still being sought.
Officials said Johnny Hall Jr. escaped from two Wilkinson County Correctional Facility officers’ custody while being escorted from his father’s wake at the Picayune Funeral Home in Picayune. Preliminary information indicates Hall left the officers and jumped into a waiting black vehicle with a white female driver. -
Citizen’s Police Academy begins today
The work law enforcement conducts on a daily basis is often misunderstood by the general public.
Officials at the Meridian Police Department developed a program to inform and educate citizens on what police do in serving and protecting the population. The program, The Citizen's Police Academy, has been gaining speed for a couple of years since it was first offered. Officials said it shows residents are interested in police work and how it is conducted. - Woman: decongestant brought meth charge in Alabama
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