Men plead guilty to animal cruelty

TEXARKANA — Two of three defendants charged in the abuse of a goat and several dogs in Texarkana have pleaded guilty.

William Lake Evans, 25, pleaded guilty earlier this month and was sentenced to four years in prison for felony animal cruelty at a hearing before Miller County Circuit Judge Carlton Jones. Evans also received a one-year county jail sentence for misdemeanor animal cruelty involving a goat, which will run concurrently to his prison term. Evans was on parole for burglary at the time of his animal cruelty arrest.

Tyler Blaine Green, 21, pleaded guilty Dec. 19 to misdemeanor animal cruelty at a hearing before Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson. Green was sentenced to one year of probation and was ordered to pay a $500 fine as well as $570 in court costs and fees.

A charge of misdemeanor animal cruelty remains pending against Green’s wife, Victoria Anderson, 24. Anderson’s case is scheduled for jury selection May 21. A status hearing before Jones is scheduled for March 13.

The three defendants were sharing a house in which the neglected animals were found, but the defendants had moved out because utility service had been cut because of nonpayment, authorities said.

Animal control agents first visited the house at 309 Laurel St. on Sept. 18 in response to an emergency call about the animals not having food and water, according to a search warrant affidavit signed by animal control officer Jackie Mullins.

They reported a brownand-white female pit bull whose ribs, spine and pelvic bones were visible. A smaller dog of unknown breed appeared in “less than adequate condition.”

There was no food and little water.

A notice to contact animal control officials within eight hours was left on the door, and repeated attempts were made to contact Anderson, whose name is listed on the home’s water service account.

Animal control officers returned Sept. 21. The notices left on the door had been removed, and attempts to contact Anderson were unsuccessful. Officers could see other animals in the house and that there was no electricity. They reported a goat, laboring to breathe and unable to stand, lying in its own waste.

The following day, animal control officers and a member of the Texarkana Police Department executed a search warrant. Officers removed the ailing goat and used bolt cutters to enter a locked room where two more dogs were found. The goat died that night while under veterinary care.

Green contacted Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption the day of the search, authorities said.

The affidavit said that Mullins called Green and could hear him speaking with Anderson. Green acknowledged that he knew the animals were in the house, knew of their poor condition but “felt it was not their problem,” authorities said.

Green told Mullins the animals belong to Evans, the couple’s housemate, authorities said. Mullins spoke to Evans the day of the search as well. Evans said he told Mullins he had food for the animals and knew they were in need of care. Evans said he was treating the animals with remedies he’d found on the Internet because he couldn’t afford a veterinarian and that he was planning to move them to another location, authorities said.