Story Published:
Oct 4, 2007 at 2:18 PM CST
Story Updated:
Oct 4, 2007 at 2:18 PM CST
MOUNTAIN
HOME, Ark. -- A couple convicted of 20 counts of animal cruelty skipped out on their sentencing on Thursday.
A judge issued warrants for the arrests of Tammy and William Hanson.
The
Hansons faces a sentence of up to a year in jail after the judge convicted them of
20 misdemeanors last month. The judge could also order them to repay money spent by the Humane
Society of the United States to care for dogs found on their property.
The
Hansons operated the Every Dog Needs a Home shelter near Gamaliel, northeast of
Mountain Home. In October,
sheriff's deputies in October found between 400 and 500 dogs at the couple’s
rural two-acre lot, including dogs rescued from Gulf Coast states after
Hurricane Katrina. The animals had sores, were in cramped cages, and were
groveling for food. One was dead, another had a broken leg, and many were
sick. In a previous hearing in Baxter
County District Court, Judge Van Gearhart
barred the couple from owning or possessing any animals.
On Thursday, their
attorney told Gearhart that he was surprised his clients didn't show up for the
sentencing. Gearhart called for a 20-minute recess and issued the warrants
afterwards.
After the Hansons' trial in January, law officers arrested them for two separate
incidents in Missouri. One is a
felony of animal theft in Lawrence County, Mo. Investigators there believe the
Hansons stole eight animals.
They
also face two charges of theft, one charge of theft of lost property, and three
charges of tampering with evidence in Greene County, Mo. Law officers found dogs
from Every Dog Needs a Home at a property north of Springfield. A
judge had ordered the dogs to remain on at the Hansons' property in Baxter
County until he approved their transfer to somewhere else.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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