Woman gets jail time, fine in animal cruelty case

By The Associated Press

MOUNTAIN HOME — Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says a woman who fled with her husband to Vermont rather than face sentencing on 20 counts of animal cruelty has finally been sentenced to a year in the county jail and fined a total of $10,000.

The sheriff said Tammy C. Hanson, 42, was sentenced Wednesday by Baxter County District Judge Van Gearhart.

Hanson was convicted in January 2006 and allowed to remain free until a scheduled sentencing on Feb. 23 of that year, but she didn’t show up. She was arrested July 18 in Sutton, Vt.

Baxter County authorities said in 2006 that hundreds of dogs, some rescued from Hurricane Katrina, were found on the couple’s property. Deputies said the animals had sores, were living in cramped cages, and were groveling for food.

Montgomery said Hanson will be given credit for 41 days she has already been jailed. Gearhart ordered Hanson to pay a $500 fine on each of the 20 counts.