VAN BUREN -- A rural Mulberry couple pleaded innocent Wednesday in Crawford County Circuit Court to animal cruelty charges, accused of letting three of their horses starve.
Court records show that Eugene Bennett, 49, and Gail Bennett, 43, entered their pleas through a public defender to three counts of aggravated cruelty to a horse, a Class D felony that's punishable by up to six years in prison for a conviction. They were freed on bond after their arrest April 19.
A probable cause affidavit by Crawford County sheriff's office deputy Cpl. James Mirus said he found three horses, one of them a foal, emaciated and weak, without food or water. One of the horses was so weak it could barely move, Mirus wrote.
Mirus reported speaking to neighbors around the 9314 Sherman Creek Road property who told him that the Bennetts moved from their property last summer. At first, the couple returned to the property frequently but their visits became less frequent over time, he reported.
State Desk on 05/05/2016