Judge: No Animals Near Walnut Hill Man Accused Of Starving 10 Horses

March 24, 2011

A Walnut Hill man accused of starving 10 horses will no longer be able to have custody of, or live around, any animal as he awaits trial on multiple animal cruelty charges.

Late last week, Judge Ronald Swanson modified bond conditions for James Benjamin Bethea, stipulating that he shall not maintain custody of any animal, and that no animal may reside on any property in which Bethea lives, owns, cares for or maintains. In addition, Bethea must allow Panhandle Equine Rescue to conduct random inspections to ensure the bond conditions are being met. The conditions apply as he awaits trial.

Bethea, 61, has pleaded not guilty to two felony and eight misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. One of the horses allegedly starved by Bethea was euthanized by a veterinarian in a pasture February 2 in the 5000 block of Highway 97A in Enon. Nine others were seized by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and transported to an animal clinic for medical care.

Bethea’s trial is currently set for mid-May.

Pictured top: One of nine horses  seized in February in the Enon community. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.

Comments

20 Responses to “Judge: No Animals Near Walnut Hill Man Accused Of Starving 10 Horses”

  1. walnuthillmom on March 27th, 2011 8:12 am

    the woman that truned him in was not trying to stir up trouble..he had a dead horse laying in his field..how much more guilty can you get then that. and if he is not the one that starved his horses then who did? they were on his property in his care so who was taking care of them?

  2. a sincere bystander on March 27th, 2011 7:48 am

    i know mr. james personally and him and his wife r great people, he claims that a certain woman just wanted to nose up trouble. if he is guilty i pray he gets his just rewards but if he is innocent i hope that womans nose falls off. :)

  3. Lin on March 26th, 2011 11:33 am

    A picture’s worth a thousand words!

  4. walnuthillmom on March 26th, 2011 8:04 am

    @flomaton mom
    james had these horses for a little less then a year..how do i know cause i see the poor things everyday. they were fat when he got the and slowly they started loosing weight. if your going to take up for a man like him then your no better then he is. maybe you should go arounf believing what everyone says

  5. Flomaton mom on March 25th, 2011 10:54 am

    I have known James for a long time and I believe him when he says he had only had them for a few weeks and was trying to make them healthy. Some people need to talk to a person before they judge. I know how Mr. James loves his animals and he would never this on purpose. Sometimes when you try to help someone else out so they don’t get in trouble you seem to find yourself in their trouble. Praying for you Mr. James.

  6. AudreyBetts on March 25th, 2011 6:56 am

    Wishing ALL judges were as strict with administering the law. Animals deserve better than this.Just imagine, if this was handed down more often how many animals would be saved from this terrible indignity and pain.THANK YOU JUDGE.I for one judge YOU as one of the best as you carry out judgements such as this.

  7. Joe on March 24th, 2011 5:28 pm

    His neighbors would have helped, he should have asked us!
    you can not fix something if you do not know that it is broken.

  8. pitiful on March 24th, 2011 3:36 pm

    That is so sad about starving his animals and he could be a parent and grandparent. What will his children and grandchildren think?

  9. bjay on March 24th, 2011 10:33 am

    Hope he gets locked for a very long time!

  10. EMD on March 24th, 2011 10:26 am

    I just want to know WHY? Why did he treat them like that. I would like to know why anyone does this. All of these people that exhibit this kind of behavior need to tell the rest of us, ‘WHY?”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Thank you to the judge for taking this seriously.

  11. concerned citizen on March 24th, 2011 9:54 am

    I sincerely hope that this man will serve some time, and is forever banned from having custody of any animals.. This means everything from hamsters to horses..

  12. walnuthillmom on March 24th, 2011 9:32 am

    What about all thw dog in his house that no one ever sees outside? And if he moves will he have to let someone know where he moves to so they can still check up on him and make sure he is doing what he is suppose to do?

  13. walnuthillgirl on March 24th, 2011 8:20 am

    Its about time they did something about this man. But what i want to know is if he moves from where he lives now will he have to report the move so they can still check on him?

  14. Flomaton Mom on March 24th, 2011 6:50 am

    They should do to him what he did to the horses! Looks like to me he hasn’t missed many meals! So heartbreaking for the horses….

  15. unchainyourdog on March 24th, 2011 5:59 am

    We can only hope that if Bethea is found guilty on all charges, that in addition to jail time, the Judge also imposes a lifetime ban on animal ownership, any animal.

    Bethea’s next court date is May 4, 2011 ~ 9 AM Docket Day Judge Swanson

  16. Tammy on March 24th, 2011 5:58 am

    thank you judge………….

  17. art on March 24th, 2011 5:51 am

    good call judge! you can tell something about a man (or a community) by the way the treat the most vulnerable: the young, the elderly and their livestock.

  18. Diddleysquat on March 24th, 2011 5:39 am

    What about the poor little mice who live in his house?

  19. Concerned parent on March 24th, 2011 12:52 am

    About time a judge did something that made sense!

  20. people are crazy!! on March 23rd, 2011 11:06 pm

    People like this do not deserve the pleasure of having a animal they depend solely on us to love and take care of them these animals do not deserve such punishment as this I think they should be treated just as they have done these animals for the same amount of time !!!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News