A Hodgenville couple charged with cruelty to animals and violation of several county ordinances reached an agreement with prosecutors in LaRue District Court Friday.

As part of the plea agreement, William Scott Coy, 43, and Sandra Coy, 50, of Peppers Road, agreed to move outside LaRue County and not keep or bring animals into the county for two years. They declined to give out their new address in open court.

Special judge Sue Carol Browning presided over the Coys' hearing as regular District Judge C. Derek Reed recused himself from presiding over the existing case in August. Reed said he might not be able to rule impartially, given the frequency of external incidents, such as the appearance of the Humane Society representatives in the courtroom.

The Coys each faced 12 charges of second degree cruelty to animals, a class A misdemeanor, after a sheriff's department investigation on Aug. 23. Officers, who responded to a complaint of a bad odor coming from the property, said they found one dead dog still on a chain and the grave of another dog. Officers said they carried water to 10 dogs on a day when temperatures topped out in excess of 100 degrees.

A court order gave the officers permission to remove all other dogs (37 pit bulls, one German Shepherd and eight puppies) from the property. The animals were housed at a shelter in Taylor County – at taxpayer expense – until Monday.

According to testimony, 11 of the Coys' dogs died in the kennel – some as a result of disease, others due to attack by other dogs.

Prosecution on the 12 counts was deferred for two years on condition the Coys were to pick up their animals within five days or forfeit them, not engage in illegal activity and release LaRue and Taylor County employees from any liability regarding the dogs. The Coys were not required to pay for boarding and feeding the dogs.

The Coys also faced several counts of violation of county ordinance dating from 2006 and 2007. On two counts, they each entered an Alford plea, which means they maintained their innocence but agreed the evidence could return a guilty verdict.

On those counts, they received six months jail time, probated for two years. Two other counts were dismissed.

In all, the Coys were fined $602 in penalties and court costs which must be paid by April 9.

Browning told the couple: "Please get it paid because I don't want to drive up here for a bench warrant."

Sandra Coy argued that one of her dogs was given to someone in Louisiana through the intervention of the Humane Society. The dog "Sophie" was believed to be a rescue from Hurricane Katrina, however, Sandra Coy said the dog was hers and she wanted it returned.

Browning said Coy would have to pursue the issue through a civil suit.

Animal ordinance officer Jill Gray said the Coys picked up the animals Monday.

Gray did not have a total for the dogs' boarding, food and veterinarian expenses from August. However, she believes there should be a system in place to require persons accused of animal cruelty to post bond for the animals' care. She plans to speak before the Kentucky Legislature in February about the matter.

"This costs small counties a fortune," she said.

 

Here is another one from the News-Enterprise.  This is a "must" read as it allows you to comment on the article!  Click Here

THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE Thursday, January 17, 2008
 

Couple banished from LaRue County on animal cruelty charges

Landmark News Service

HODGENVILLE — A Hodgenville couple charged with cruelty to animals and violation of several county ordinances has reached an agreement with prosecutors in LaRue District Court.

As part of the plea agreement, William Scott Coy, 43, and Sandra Coy, 50, of Peppers Road, agreed to move outside LaRue County and not keep or bring animals into the county for two years. They declined to give out their new address in court Friday.

Special judge Sue Carol Browning presided over the Coys’ hearing as regular District Judge C. Derek Reed recused himself from presiding over the existing case in August. Reed said he might not be able to rule impartially, given the frequency of external incidents, such as the appearance of the Humane Society representatives in the courtroom.

The Coys each faced 12 charges of second-degree cruelty to animals, a Class A misdemeanor, after a sheriff’s department investigation Aug. 23. Officers, who responded to a complaint of an odor coming from the property, said they found one dead dog still on a chain and the grave of another dog. Officers said they carried water to 10 dogs on a day when temperatures topped out in excess of 100 degrees.

A court order gave the officers permission to remove all other dogs, 37 pit bulls, one German Shepherd and eight puppies, from the property. The animals were housed at a shelter in Taylor County n at taxpayer expense n until Monday.

According to testimony, 11 of the Coys’ dogs died in the kennel n some as a result of disease, others due to attacks by other dogs.

Prosecution on the 12 counts was deferred for two years on condition the Coys were to pick up their animals within five days or forfeit them, not engage in illegal activity and release LaRue and Taylor County employees from any liability regarding the dogs. The Coys were not required to pay for boarding and feeding the dogs.

The Coys also faced several counts of violation of county ordinance dating from 2006 and 2007. On two counts, they each entered an Alford plea, which means they maintained their innocence but agreed the evidence could return a guilty verdict.

On those counts, they received six months jail time, probated for two years. Two other counts were dismissed. In all, the Coys were fined $602 in penalties and court costs which must be paid by April 9.

Browning told the couple: “Please get it paid because I don’t want to drive up here for a bench warrant.”

Sandra Coy argued that one of her dogs was given to someone in Louisiana through the intervention of the Humane Society. The dog “Sophie” was believed to be a rescue from Hurricane Katrina, however, Sandra Coy said the dog was hers and she wanted it returned.

Browning said Coy would have to pursue the issue through a civil suit.

Animal ordinance officer Jill Gray said the Coys picked up the animals Monday.

Gray did not have a total for the dogs’ boarding, food and veterinarian expenses since August. However, she believes there should be a system in place to require persons accused of animal cruelty to post bond for the animals’ care. She plans to speak before the Kentucky legislature in February about the matter.

“This costs small counties a fortune,” she said.

 

Coys charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty  

Here is the Link to the article: Dead Link, but may be available  at  http://laruecountyherald.com/news.html

A Hodgenville couple previously convicted of violating county and state animal-related laws, and already facing more charges, now face yet another round of accusations. The latest allegations come after the LaRue County Sheriff's Department responded to a complaint at the couple's property last week.

William S. Coy, 43, and Sandra Coy, 50, both of the 1100 block of Peppers Road, each face12 charges of second-degree cruelty to animals, a class-A misdemeanor, after Sheriff Bobby Shoffner and Deputy Matt Darst investigated their property on Aug. 23.

The Sheriff's office received a call last week from a neighbor of the Coys, reporting a "very bad odor" coming from a property next door to their residence, according to a statement released by the office.

The two law enforcement officials walked to the edge of the neighbor's property and saw the corpse of a pit bull inside a kennel, "very bloated and still on its chain" the statement said.

The Sheriff's Department then called Dog Warden Jim Evans to check on other dogs at the property after not being able to make contact with the Coys.

The statement said a freshly dug grave with another dead dog buried in it was also found on the property.

Shoffner and Evans brought water to 10 dogs, according to the statement, on a day when temperatures topped out in excess of 100 degrees.

Darst filed the animal cruelty charges the following day and obtained a court order to remove all other dogs from the property, as well as arrest warrants for William and Sandra Coy. The dogs were taken to a shelter in Taylor County.

William Coy was not located and arrested until Aug. 25. Sandra Coy had not been apprehended as of press time.

In all, 37 pit bulls, one German Sheppard and eight pit bull puppies were removed from the property.

The Sheriff's Department believes at least one of the pit bulls was thought to have been a dog the Coys were reportedly taking care of for a Hurricane Katrina family.

A representative of the Louisiana Humane Society was expected to go to Taylor County to try to identify any of the dogs that may have came from the program.

Representatives from the group confronted the Coys during a District Court hearing earlier this year, in which charges of violating a county ordinance are still pending against the couple. The representatives inquired about 12 missing pit bulls the couple had reportedly agreed to care for.

Beginning March 2003, the Coys have been convicted on several animal-related charges and still have additional charges pending, according to the Sheriff Department's statement.

The couple was found guilty of harboring a vicious animal in 2003, and in June 2006 on five counts of violating a local county ordinance, in reference to dogs running at large. The Coys face other charges still pending of county-ordinance violations in relation to letting dogs run loose on someone else's property.

Earlier this month, District Judge C. Derek Reed recused himself from presiding over the existing case, citing concerns that he felt he might not be able to rule impartially, given the frequency of external incidents, such as the appearance of the Humane Society representatives in the courtroom.

Reed was the judge who signed the court orders requested by Darst last week during this latest investigation.

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This begins the story of Sandi Coy and the involvement of HSLA, her tall tale begins when she transported 12 dogs from Tylertown, MS to her palatial and humane dog rescue in Kentucky.  Here is a excerpt from Gopitbull.com with information about some of the initial court proceedings regarding her taking of the dogs and her obvious lying to the court.  What the hell happened to these dogs??????  WTF?????.

Louisiana Humane Society wants pit bulls returned

A Hodgenville couple, appearing in LaRue District Court to answer charges of a county ordinance violation, were confronted in court by two members of the Humane Society of Louisiana Wednesday.

William Scott Coy, 42, of Peppers Road, was charged with two counts of local county ordinance on Oct. 10. He allegedly refused to allow an official to inspect dog kennels on his property and had overgrown weeds on his property. His wife Sandi faces the same charges.

According to county kennel enforcement officer Jill Gray, representatives of the Humane Society had contracted with the Coys to care for 12 pit bulls after Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana and Alabama in August 2005. Seven dogs had been returned to their owners, but five animals were unaccounted for. The Coys had refused to let Gray inspect their property as part of the county’s kennel ordinance.

Shellie Brooks of the Humane Society was asked to approach the bench by LaRue District Judge C. Derek Reed. She told him the 12 dogs were taken in October 2005 by the Coys, just two of many volunteers who offered to help for animals abandoned during the flooding. The volunteers were required to return the animals to the original owners, if possible, and to provide veterinarian care for them.

She is seeking documentation about the missing dogs, she said.

The Attorney General of Louisiana (Charles Foti Jr.) also sent the Coys a letter asking for information about the dogs, County Attorney Dale Morris added.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, Foti’s office has opened an inquiry into allegations involving funds raised for reuniting pets and their owners by the Humane Society of the United States. Numerous pet owners filed complaints with the attorney general about problems finding their pets. Some claimed that the adoptive families refused to unite the pets with owners. The deadline for reuniting pets with owners was set for Oct. 15, 2005, but a 30-day extension was granted.

Sandi Coy told the judge that one of the five missing dogs was “put down for human aggression.” Two died from heartworm, she said, but she did not have documentation as the veterinarian who treated them “had committed suicide.”←←(Isn't that the biggest crock of shit, the court bought that one... gullibility in Kentucky, heh???)

Two dogs were “adopted out for fostering,” she said. The “foster parent” has moved and she does not know how to contact him.

Reed asked Coy why she did not provide the requested information to the Humane Society.

“I told them they were fostered out,” Sandi Coy said. “I am not at liberty to give that information (names of foster parents) out.”

Reed told her the representatives “have a right to know” what became of the animals.

“Why not give them the last known address so they can track them down?” Reed asked.

Reed suggested the Humane Society representatives and the Coys take advantage of the court’s conference room to work out an agreement. When the four re-appeared in court, Sandi Coy told the judge that she had the information at home.

The issue was not resolved and the Coys are scheduled to re-appear in court Nov. 8. William Coy has already pleaded not guilty and Sandi Coy told the judge she will plead not guilty as well.

According to the December 2005 issue of the Bulldog Banter, the newsletter for The Endangered Breeds Association, Sandi Coy requested financial assistance from the group for gasoline and a rental trailer. Coy traveled to Louisiana and rescued 12 American Pit Bull Terriers from the humane society, the newsletter said. It did not say whether the request was approved.

Please go here for this article: http://www.gopitbull.com/pitbullforums/pitbull-news/1215-louisiana-humane-society-wants-pit-bulls-returned-ky.html
 

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