Crook County SO Caring for 20 Seized Horses

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office is in a familiar, costly situation, caring for seized, allegedly neglected horses while a caretaker was in court Thursday for arraignment on animal neglect charges.

The day after three months of investigation led to a raid on property along Highway 126 in Powell Butte, Timothy Coffia was arraigned on 20 counts of second-degree animal neglect.

Each count has a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

While deputies continue their investigation, possibly looking to ties to other people associated with the ranch which was the site of a previous neglect case, they also have their hands full caring for the horses.

Eight of the horses have been moved to the Crook County Fairgrounds in Prineville. They are the worst of the group, all scoring between 1.0 and 1.5 on a scale of 1 to 9 (9 being the healthiest).

They are getting care and, most importantly, eating hay to start adding on weight. Many have their ribs showing and scars on their skin.

Before deputies intervened, there were 60 horses on the property, 20 deemed as “neglected.”

The sheriff’s office now has authority to go onto the property to care for the remaining horses. It’s a costly proposition, with the last case of animal neglect at the same ranch in 2009, adding up to $100,000 in costs since. Community donations and national interest from animal protection groups have helped defray the cost.

It took three months of complaints and investigation to get a search warrant before seizing the animals. In part, that was because the people at the ranch would not cooperate.

“Unfortunately, in this situation, as with the last case, we were not granted access to the property. The residents were uncooperative, so we basically had to stand on the roadside and gather our information from there,” said sheriff’s Sgt. James Savage.

Investigators were not the only ones standing on the roadside. Neighbors told NewsChannel 21 they threw apples over the fence — a desperate attempt to help the horses, but it only led to disappointment. They say the horses didn’t know what to do with a fresh apple, walking away without eating them.

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Wednesday’s story:

In a sad rerun of a 2009 horse neglect case still winding its way through the courts, Crook County sheriff?s deputies raided a Powell Butte ranch Wednesday, seized 20 of the 60 horses there and arrested a caretaker on 20 counts of second-degree animal neglect.

“I’ve come here and passed by here multiple times in a day, hoping to see if they would feed them…and they don’t,” one Powell Butte resident said Monday.

The sheriff?s office has had an ongoing investigation involving neglect of a herd of horses on the ranch at 12340 SW Highway 126, said Undersheriff John Gautney. There are 60 horses on the property at present, officials said.

Over the past several months, the agency has received numerous complaints regarding the well-being of the herd of 50 to 60 horses, he said, noting allegations of mistreatment and horses looking very thin.

“It’s disgusting — it makes me sad, it makes me cry. It’s awful, they need to do something about it,” said another Powell Butte resident.

On Wednesday something was done.

Sheriff’s deputies swarmed the property, search warrant in hand, and left with Timothy Luke Coffia, 35, in the back of a squad car.

Authorities have been itching to get back on the property and deal with the situation for months.

“You have to have a search warrant to get onto the property, and that’s why it took the time to develop that information to get to the point where we had probable cause to get onto the property,” Gautney said.

The undersheriff said detectives compiled information and photos showing there was reason to believe the horses were not receiving the care required by state law. Gautney said that information was compiled in an affidavit requesting a search warrant, granted by a circuit court judge.

At the time of the raid, three adults and a child were on the property, Gautney said. It was determined that Coffiia was the person who was hired to care for the livestock.

Coffia was lodged in the county jail in Prineville on 20 counts of second-degree animal neglect related to the 20 horses being seized, Gautney said, adding that the processing and examination of the horses was still under way. Coffia?s bail was set $36,000.

The sheriff?s office determined the others living on the property were not directly connected to the care of the livestock, Gautney said.

However, he also said that more arrests are possible as the investigation continues.

The county employed the services of an out-of-county veterinarian to inspect the horses and determine which ones need to be impounded for medical care. The eight horses in the worst shape were seized Wednesday and taken to the county fairgrounds in Prineville for observation; the other 12 malnourished horses will be cared for at the ranch by the county, under court order, as the investigation continues.

The sheriff?s office received a donation of hay last summer from someone wishing to help in such circumstances, Gautney said. A member of the sheriff?s Search and Rescue unit delivered some of that hay to the ranch to feed the horses.

The undersheriff said ?numerous concerned citizens? helped out with information, as well as members of animal rights and equine rescue groups.

?Many times, there was frustration on everyone?s behalf, in regard to the length of time to put this into action,? Gautney said in a news release.

?The Crook County Sheriff?s Office wants to thank everyone who was involved for the patience and understanding in allowing us the time to collect the evidence needed that led to the search warrant executed today,? Gautney said.

Authorities still believe the horse operation involves Robert Gruntz, the Hemet, Calif. man who was arrested in 2009 after more than a dozen horses were seized at the same site; more than 60 others were left at the location.

“It makes me feel sick,” a Powell Butte resident said Monday. “I don’t like to see animals like this, that’s for sure, and horses are such beautiful animals when they’re taken care of right.”

Gruntz has been fighting the county?s horse seizure and criminal cases ever since, having petitioned the state Supreme Court to hear his appeal of the horse forfeiture, said District Attorney Daina Vitolins, who argued the case before the state Court of Appeals.

The county’s price tag for the investigation and caring for the horses has hit $100,000 over the past three years.

?It?s a long process, but we?ve been winning (in court) so far,? Vitolins said, noting that the horses seized in 2009 were all adopted out to new homes.