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Wayne County animal cruelty convictions affirmed
TRACEY BLAIR
Legal News Reporter
Published: February 22, 2017
A Wayne County Municipal Court judge did not err by failing to suppress fruits of an illegal search by a retired police officer in an animal cruelty case, according to the 9th District Court of Appeals.
Pet rescue operator Jane Smith was charged with 47 counts of animal cruelty.
A jury found her guilty of 44 counts, and she was sentenced to jail time and community control.
In addition, she was ordered to compensate the Humane Society for the amount they spent caring for her dogs.
According to case summary, it all began in May 2014, when a Trumbull County couple lost their dog and embarked on an extensive search to find him.
The wife spotted a dog that appeared to be theirs on a pet rescue website operated by Smith. She and her husband, Robert Gibson, repeatedly tried emailing and calling Smith to ask about the dog. After they were unable to make contact with her, they drove to her operation in Wayne County.
Gibson made two trips to Smith’s home and knocked on several doors. Although she was not present either time, Gibson walked around the property and took photos of the dogs he saw. He also gave statements to the local Humane Society describing the conditions he witnessed.
On May 19, 2014, the Humane Society executed a warrant and seized 47 dogs and other animals from the home.
The trial court determined probable cause for the seizure existed.
Although Gibson is a former Portage County Sheriff’s deputy, the court ruled he was acting as a private citizen when he obtained evidence against Smith. The trial court also found the Humane Society never requested or knew Gibson would return to Smith’s home a second time to get more evidence.
Gibson testified he decided to drive to the Humane Society after seeing a dog running loose, dogs in cages around the barn and dogs in cages stacked “three to four high” through an unobstructed window.
On appeal, Smith argued R.C. 959.132 is unconstitutional because it allowed the taking of her property without due process.
The statute allows a humane officer to size a companion animal for probable cause. After the seizure, a court must conduct a hearing within 10 days to determine if probable cause existed.
Writing for the 9th District, Judge Beth Whitmore found the hearing was conducted nine days after Smith’s dogs were seized.
“Once the court determined that probable cause for the seizure existed, Smith was able to post bonds and prevent the Humane Society from disposing of her dogs until she was proven guilty at trial,” Judge Whitmore stated. “Had she been found not guilty, she would have been entitled to both the return of her bonds and her dogs.”
Appellate judges Donna Carr and Jennifer Hensal concurred.
The case is cited State v. Smith, 2017-Ohio-359.