IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON



IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON

FOR THE COUNTY OF BENTONBENTON

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|Company; and ASSOCIATED PRESS, a New York Nonprofit OrganizationIn | |AFFIDAVIT OF SCOTT A. HEISERAFFIDAVIT OF |

|Re The Application for a Search Warrant – Animal Neglect Mile Post | | |

|[ ] SW 53rd Street, Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon | |CPD No. [REDACTED] |

| | |DA No. [REDACTED] |

STATE OF OREGON )

) ss.

County of Benton )

I, [REDACTED], Benton County Sheriff’s Deputy, being first duly sworn, state that:

1. I am a Deputy Sheriff employed by Benton County Sheriff’s Office for the past seven years. Prior to my full time employment with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office I was a reserve Deputy Sheriff with Benton County for three years. I have a total of about ten years of experience in law enforcement. I am currently assigned to the animal control division. I am familiar with the care of management of horses and I have received specialized training in the area of animal abuse and neglect cases to assist me in carrying out my duties as an animal control officer. Additionally, during my law enforcement career, I have received training in investigations regarding theft, burglary, and vehicle theft from the Department of Public Safety Standards, and Training (DPSST). I have arrested and helped convict individuals for burglary, theft, drug possession, assault, harassment, DUII and vehicle theft. I am authorized by Oregon Revised Statues to make application to a judge for a search warrant.

2. Based on my training and experience as a peace officer and based on my personal experience with horses, I know that horses that are exposed to the elements such as rain, wind or mud for extended periods of time without the opportunity to get to suitable pastureland are more susceptible to injury and illness. I have discussed this issue with local Veterinarian Dr. [REDACTED], who has over nine years of experience as a practicing veterinarian, and is a vet who has, in the past, as in this case, volunteered her time to consult with law enforcement to enforce Oregon’s animal abuse and neglect laws. Dr. [REDACTED] told me that horses that are exposed to the elements such as rain, wind or mud for extended periods of time are more susceptible to injury and illness. Animals without shelter or some type of shielding, such as barns, three sided sheds, houses or heavily wooded areas to shield them, have no chance to dry their coats, which helps to preserve their body heat. Animals, such as the horses in this case that are left standing in deep mud without relief, are susceptible to hoof rot, “thrush” and “mud fever” which are serious diseases that are common in horses that are neglected by their owners or caretakers who fail to provide basic care for their horses.

3. I am acquainted with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] (herein after referred to collectively as the Owners) and know that they own and board a number of horses on a piece of leased land located just south of [REDACTED] Rd. on SW 53rd Street (this site is defined as and described further below as the Property). I have been attempting to induce the Owners to fix the fencing of the Property so that the horses under their care stop getting out off of the Property an onto the neighboring properties and stop getting tangled in unsafe conditions on the Property (namely trapped in wire fencing from broken fences or in wire fencing spools left out on the Property). Additionally, now that the rains have come, I have received numerous calls from concerned citizens about the conditions in which the Owners’ horses are being required to exist (e.g., the horses confined in deep mud, horses getting out onto SW 53rd Street, horses without drinking water and horses that are starving). The Owners have consistently stated that they lack the financial means to remedy the unsuitable conditions in which they keep the horses on the Property.

4. On the morning of Monday, November 28, 2005, I received a call from a concerned citizen about a horse that was on the Property that appeared to be in distress and was lying down in the mud and the horse appeared to be sick or hurt. The caller, who identified himself to me told me that he stopped his car and whistled at the horse but the horse didn’t respond or move.

5. Later that same morning, I drove to the Property in response to the call noted above. I arrived at approximately 9:30 a.m. The temperature this day was about 32 degrees and was a rain snow/ mix. The horse, which I later learned was named “Georgia,” was still lying down in the mud and was soaking wet, covered with mud, and was shivering uncontrollably. From my training and experience, I believed the horse to be in distress and need immediate medical assistance. I entered the Property to render aid to the horse. I did so with the prior consent of the Owners, who I have been dealing with for months, and who have given me permission to check on the condition of the horses on the Property any time without further need for approval and this consent has not been revoked.[1] The horse, Georgia, died from what I later learned were complications related to an obstructed bowel, however, the fact that this horse went down in deep mud only added to the horse’s suffering. The horse was showing extreme signs of hypothermia when I arrived (namely, caked in mud on a 32 degree day, shaking uncontrollably) and this fact was later confirmed when a volunteer vet, Dr. [REDACTED], took Georgia’s temperature and found it to be exceedingly low.

6. Attached and incorporated into my affidavit is Exhibit A, which is a set of photographs taken of this situation. These photographs fairly and accurately depict the conditions on the Property and the state of the horses under the care of the Owners. Please note that page 1 of Exhibit A shows one of the Owners, [REDATED], who came to the Property after I began to render aid to Georgia. In that photograph you can clearly see Ms. [REDACTED] holding a pack of cigarettes and is smoking. Further, she is pregnant and holding a large soda cup. I find it difficult to believe that the Owners lack the money to provide for the most basic needs of the horses when they have the money to buy and smoke cigarettes and buy and consume soda pop.

7. Based on my observations and my prior dealings with the Owners, I know that there is no pressurized water on the Property. Rather, the Owners have to truck in water for the horses. Further, I know that the Owners do not have the funds necessary to care for the horse they keep on the Property. I know this because, as noted above, the Owners cite lack of money as a repeated excuse for not fixing the fencing to the pastureland on the Property. Further, while dealing with the dying Georgia, Dr. [REDACTED] contacted the OSU Vet School to see if they would perform surgery on Georgia (as the Owners wanted to try and save Georgia). The OSU Vet School declined to do any more work for the Owners because they are more than $1,000 dollars behind in their payments to the Vet School.

8. On the afternoon of Monday, November 28, 2005, at about 2:00 p.m., I met with Veterinarian, Dr. [REDACTED] at [REDACTED] Vet Clinic. I showed Dr. [REDACTED] the pictures in Exhibit A. When she was through looking at the photos, I asked Dr. [REDACTED] if this was “good animal husbandry” for the horses. Dr. [REDACTED] replied, “Absolutely not.” She went on to say that it is not uncommon for horses to be in mud here in the Willamette Valley, but for normal “State Minimum Care Standards” you must have an area where the horses can get out of the deep mud, wind and rain. Dr. [REDACTED] told me that by getting the horses out of the mud, wind and rain, it allows the horses coat to dry, the mud to dry which eliminates the chances of hoof root, thrush, and mud fever on the upper legs. The photos and videos indicate that some areas in the paddocks are anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of mud and the all horses in the photos are completely soaked, even the ones wearing blankets.

9. Further, District Attorney [REDACTED] told me that on Friday, December 2, 2005, he spoke to Dr. [REDACTED] by phone and she told him that it is her opinion that the horses on the Property and under the care of the Owners are being neglected as defined in ORS 167.325 because the conditions that these horses are being required to exist in fails to meet the standards of minimum care for horses in that the horse are being required to stand in deep mud with no ability to get to mud-free pasture land (because the Owners will not fix the pasture fencing, so they keep the horses in the muddy pens). District Attorney [REDACTED] also told me that during his conversation with Dr. [REDACTED] on December 2, 2005, Dr. Weston told him that within the last six months her husband, [REDACTED], a therapeutic farrier, had contact with the Owners and that the Owners wanted [REDACTED] to trim the hooves on only one leg of three of the horses on the Property. Dr. [REDACTED] told DA [REDACTED] that such a decision by the Owners was grossly inappropriate for the horses because it is akin to requiring a woman to wear one high-healed shoe and one flat shoe. This configuration puts an enormous load on the joints of the horse and will injure the horse.

10. Based on the facts and circumstance described above, including the photographs in attached Exhibit A, I have probable cause to believe that the Property contains evidence of the crime of Animal Neglect in the Second Degree as defined in ORS 167.325, and attempted Animal Neglect in the First Degree as defined in ORS 167.330 (all are crimes triable in Benton County) and that evidence of these crimes (namely the horses) will be found on the Property. Alternatively, I have probable cause to believe that under ORS 167.345 the horses on the Property are being subjected to treatment in violation of ORS 167.315 to 167.333 or ORS 167.340. Thus, I respectfully request that the court, under ORS 167.345, issue a warrant to search the Property and seize the horses as evidence of the crimes noted above and further order the horses impounded and held at any suitable animal care facilities within the State of Oregon selected by the Sheriff’s office in consultation with the Human Society or licensed veterinarian.

LOCATION

11. As used throughout this affidavit, the term “the Property” is defined as follows: the Property is located near milepost [REDACTED] on SW 53rd Street in Benton County, Corvallis, Oregon and is on the west side of SW 53rd Street. The Property is located [REDACTED], in Benton County, Oregon. I have personally observed the Property subject to this request for search warrant.

Respectfully submitted this 3rd day of December 2005.

_____________________________________

[REDACTED], Benton County Deputy Sheriff

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ____ day of _______, 2005.

____________________________

Benton County Circuit Court Judge

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON

FOR THE COUNTY OF BENTON

IN THE NAME OF THE STATE OF OREGON

SEARCH WARRANT

To Any Police Officer in Benton County:

Upon information given under oath to me by an affidavit signed and sworn to by Randy Hiner, Benton County Deputy Sheriff, this Court finds good reason, and probable cause to believe that the following crimes have been committed in or are triable in Benton County:

Animal Neglect in the Second Degree under ORS: 167.325 and Attempted Animal Neglect in the First Degree under ORS 167.330. Further, there is probable cause to believe that the horses on the property described herein are being subjected to treatment in violation of ORS 167.315 to 167.333 or ORS 167.340, triggering the right for a peace officer to impound the horses under ORS 167.345(2).

YOUR ARE THEREFORE COMMANDED to make an immediate search of:

The property that is located [REDACTED], in Benton County, Oregon.

TO SEARCH FOR AND SEIZE: all horses found on the above described property and if you find the same you shall bring forthwith to me at the Benton County Courthouse, Corvallis, Oregon.

Further, pursuant to ORS 167.35(2) you are hereby ordered to impound all horses found on the above described property and that you shall place all horses impounded at any suitable animal care facilities within the State of Oregon selected by the Sheriff’s office in consultation with the Human Society or licensed veterinarian.

This warrant shall be executed not later than 12:00 PM, on the 4 day of December 2005.

____________________________________________

Judge Date & Time

I hereby certify that I have compared this copy with the original Search Warrant placed in my hands for execution and that this copy is a true and correct transcript of the whole thereof.

___________________________

Person Executing The Warrant

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[1] Even without the consent of the Owners, the condition of the Property and the circumstances in which the Owners are keeping the horses under their care are observable from 53rd Street without the need to enter onto the Property. As stated above, a passing motorist noticed Georgia was down from the roadway.

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