Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – An Onalaska woman convicted of animal cruelty in connection with horses seized from her this past spring was sentenced today to nine days in jail, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

Tuesday April 5, 2016

Jennifer Jenkins appeared in Lewis County District Court in Chehalis this morning. She was convicted by a jury last month of one gross misdemeanor for each of the nine horses.

Judge R.W. Buzzard ordered her taken into custody immediately, Lewis County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said.

Back in April responders were called to Jenkins’ home on the 2500 block of state Route 508 because a small horse had fallen onto its side into a mud hole in her pen. It took more than two hours to get it out and up.

The state veterinarian noted deplorable living conditions and prosecutors filed charges –  violations of Lewis County code – related to inadequate shelter and food.

Jenkins is prohibited from owning any animals for two years and she forfeits all rights to the horses, Meagher said. They’ll now have to be adopted out, he said.

Jenkins who has said she is disabled from the effects of a traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury disputes the findings and has filed motions already in her case. Meagher expects she will appeal. She was represented by attorney David Brown.

Restitution for the animals’ care has not yet been determined, Meagher said.

In an unrelated animal cruelty case, prosecutors decided to drop charges against a Morton area man previously filed in Lewis County Superior Court and refile them in Lewis County District Court.

Richard D. Carlile, 29, was arrested when he went to pick up his dogs from the animal shelter on Sept. 30, thinking they’d they’d broken their chains and wandered away from the camp where he lived in the woods. The pitbulls had been found alone without food or water and in poor condition, according to prosecutors.

Meagher said prosecutors decided the better charges given the evidence are the same charges Jenkins was convicted of, gross misdemeanors.
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For background, read “Onalaska horse owner loses court case” from Tuesday November 1, 2016, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 30-year-old man accused of killing a cougar in the Tatoosh Wilderness area of Lewis County without a hunting license is scheduled to go before a judge next week.

Cody M. Young is charged with one count of first-degree unlawful hunting of big game.

The McClearly resident allegedly took down the cougar with a bow and arrow on Sept. 9, a Friday and then bought the required license at a Wal-Mart about 2 a.m. the next day.

Charging documents in the case state that he met with a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer in Montesano the Monday after to fill out the proper forms and show the animal to WDFW, but he claimed he shot it while out deer hunting on Sept. 10, a Saturday.

He was very proud of his catch, according to the officer.

Young has prior convictions for illegal hunting, and another officer’s recollection of that prompted some investigating, according to the court documents.

Officer Warren Becker checked Young’s Facebook page and saw a photo posted there at 8:05 p.m. Saturday of the big cat, in complete darkness with the aid of a flash, according to the documents. But there was a problem with that photo, he noticed.

Becker knew if the cougar had been killed prior to the post the same day, there ought to have been some ambient light, given the time of sunset, the documents relate.

WDFW officers confirmed the time of the license purchase and even viewed Wal-Mart’s surveillance footage for further confirmation, according to the documents.

A search warrant was served for Young’s phone and phone records, which showed the picture of the dead cougar was taken at 9:14 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, according to charging documents. Also found was a text message sent before Saturday, stating: “smoked a cougar.”

Lewis County prosecutors filed charges on Nov. 16 and summonsed Young to appear in Lewis County Superior Court last Wednesday.

Young told the judge he needed some time to find and hire a lawyer. He was allowed release on a $10,000 unsecured bond.

He was told to return for his arraignment the afternoon of Dec. 22. Young declined to comment on his case outside the courtroom.

The maximum criminal penalty he faces is five years in prison and / or a $10,000 fine. If convicted, WDFW would suspended his hunting privileges for two years and impose a $2,000 penalty.

The monetary penalty can be doubled if the violation is within five years of a prior gross misdemeanor or felony conviction under the same law.