Washington County man pleads in appeal of animal cruelty case involving horse

A Washington County man ended up with a shorter sentence after reaching a plea deal in his appeal of animal cruelty convictions last fall involving a horse.

Joseph Alexander Bowers Jr., 49, of the Beaver Creek area, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court to two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty for failing to provide the horse with necessary sustenance and necessary veterinary care, according to court records.

Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson sentenced Bowers to 180 days incarceration, with almost 80 days of that suspended, according to court records. Bowers had time-served credit for 101 days.

What can be done?: Crowd of 100 complain about reckless driving, low enforcement on Md. 67 near Boonsboro

The case involves an Appaloosa mare named Iris that partially delivered a stillborn foal. According to court records and testimony during a November trial, Bowers told a field service officer for the Humane Society of Washington County that he used ratchet straps for 2 to 2 1/2 hours to pull the dead foal from the mare on May 18, 2021. The horse was not able to stand on its own for about two days and did not receive veterinary care until the humane society got a tip about the horse on May 25 and seized it that night.

Retired Judge M. Kenneth Long, who conducted the November bench trial in Washington County District Court, said at the time that the horse was in "great distress" for a week until it was seized and even after as it had to be sedated and receive pain medication and treatment. It was "abject failure" on Bowers' part and became a willful, intentional act, Long said of the lack of attention to the horse's needs.

Long found Bowers guilty of six counts of animal cruelty and, for purposes of sentencing, merged them into three counts. Long sentenced Bowers to 180 days, or six months, in the Washington County Detention Center and suspended a third 90-day sentence on the third count.

A jury trial in Bowers' appeal of the District Court case was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, when Bowers agreed to a plea deal, Assistant State's Attorney Danielle Lackovic confirmed Thursday in a phone interview.

The Washington County Public Defender's Office had no comment on Bowers' plea, according to an email from Assistant Public Defender Daniel Tait, who represented Bowers.

Lackovic also had no comment on the plea deal.

The air we breathe: Canadian wildfire smoke could linger on-and-off over Washington County until October

Crystal Mowery, field services director for the humane society, said Thursday in a phone interview, "We’re pleased that once again Mr. Bowers was found guilty and is being held accountable for his actions."

Bowers is on supervised probation for five years and is not to own any animals during that time, according to his probation order.

Wilkinson also ordered Bowers to surrender any animals he owns to the humane society within 10 days of the Wednesday hearing.

Mowery said if anyone knows the location of any animals owned by Bowers, they can call the humane society's field service department at 301-733-2060, ext. 203.

Horse in animal cruelty case found new home

Several months after the Appaloosa received medical care through the humane society, she was adopted by Karen Martin. Martin was the person who reported the neglect.

The animal cruelty case came to the humane society's attention on May 25, 2021, after Martin visited a farm near the Pennsylvania state line with a friend to assess a horse her friend was considering buying, Martin testified at the November trial. They went through a separate paddock and Martin said she noticed an Appaloosa mare that looked like she had recently given birth and was swaying while standing.

Martin testified the horse appeared to have scalding from urine, that she could "smell infection from several feet away," that the horse was "very thin," and there were "things protruding" from the horse's back end that were not normal.

Martin said she asked the man in charge of the farm what the horse's story was and was told the man's buddy, Joe, owned the horse.

Martin, after the November sentencing, said Iris was "happy on a private farm" in the Clear Spring area with Martin's four other horses, a donkey, and a pony with whom Iris had become best friends.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County man pleads in his appeal of horse cruelty case