Only six months in jail

[PHAR LAP]

Two receive prison sentence for stealing horses from Thistledown

Two men convicted of stealing two horses from their stalls at Thistledown in North Randall, Ohio, were sentenced to six months in prison.

Assistant [Cuyahoga] County Prosecutor Jeffrey Kocian asked Judge Eileen T. Gallagher to give 37-year-old defendants Charles Burneson, a licensed trainer, of Chippewa Lake and John Queen of Grove City the maximum 18 months in prison for theft, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The horses—Jakeman and For All You Girls--were sold to a slaughterhouse after the pair sold them for $250 apiece to an auctioneer.

"What we have here are two barbarians who saw nothing but meat walking around with four legs," Kocian said, according to the Plain Dealer.

Both horses were going to be donated by owner-trainer Mike Newell of Fort Erie, Ontario, to Canter, a nonprofit farm that enables racehorses to live out their lives as show horses, breeding stock, or pets.

Gallagher also ordered that the Ohio Racing Commission be notified of the pair's convictions and sentencing.

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/todays ... 9&subsec=1

[TBLADY]

INSANE! Right there is our problem...piss poor animal laws in Ohio! I imagine someome will say if there were no slaughter this would never have happened...NO. If there were REAL laws and REAL punishment this would not have happened!

[KamiBrooks]

Well, lets all hope that their cell mates are 300 pound horse lovers were convicted for assault.

I agree, Ohio laws suck. I few people have made noise about trying to get them changed and then the 'excitement' wanes and nothing gets done. I really like the laws in VA.

[Secretariat73]

On behalf of CANTER-Ohio, we applaud the trainer for having the courage to take these men to court and get them convicted, setting an example and bringing them to justice for the horses. He said it was never about the money, it was about the lives those horses.

For myself, I think the crime certainly deserved the maximum sentence.

RIP Jakeman and For All You Girls. You are missed. May your souls now find some peace and may you both know only joy as you run free with the heavenly herd.

[Lei Owen]

Horse stealing is still a hanging offense in Texas.

[Heidilady]

Clearly this judge is a fool.

[Skipitgirl]

Ohio law IS THE WORST! I have fostered many starvation cases. We have one case here where they investigated a farm and confiscated 14 malnourished horses including one tied in the barn with a COMPOUND broken leg! Guess what, the injured horse was euthanized and 3 months later charges were dropped and the horses were returned all fat and sassy. You can drive by TO THIS DAY and they are right back where they were, skinny and eating the trees in the field because there is nothing else. Ive called, friends have called but we are told, "the investigation is over". HELLO! You need to reinvestigate! THEY SUCK!

[summerhorse]

Ohio law IS THE WORST! I have fostered many starvation cases. We have one case here where they investigated a farm and confiscated 14 malnourished horses including one tied in the barn with a COMPOUND broken leg! Guess what, the injured horse was euthanized and 3 months later charges were dropped and the horses were returned all fat and sassy. You can drive by TO THIS DAY and they are right back where they were, skinny and eating the trees in the field because there is nothing else. Ive called, friends have called but we are told, "the investigation is over". HELLO! You need to reinvestigate! THEY SUCK!

If you can get good (zoom lense!) pictures from the road take a bunch and take them to the paper and see if there is some muck raking type journalist who would love to make a fool of the animal control people.