CORYELL COUNTY, Texas — The Coryell County Sheriff's Department has arrested two individuals, both charged with 14 counts alleging cruelty to livestock animals.
According to authorities, 37-year-old Sabrina Hale is booked at the Coryell County Jail on a total bond of $180,000. She's the second person arrested following the sheriff's office's removal of 11 abandoned horses from a property near Topsey in August.
Sabrina Hale is also facing charges in separate cases involving buglary of a habitation, criminal mischief, and theft of property.
"The other suspect, Colton Hale, 34, was charged with abandoning 14 horses after a property owner called the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office to report that the horses’ owners had not been seen since May 2, and she could not afford to care for the horses," police said.
The property owner who had made the initial call to the sheriff's office said three of the horses had died, but she could not care for the animals herself and the owners were not replying to her contact attempts.
On Aug. 4, the Coryell County Sheriff's Office Livestock Deputy met with the property owner, and at the propertry near Topsey, observed “several round bale feeders on the property that were empty,” as well as “three troughs filled with water and no grass anywhere on the property."
The deputy also observed three horse carcasses on the property.
The 11 surviving horses were in "bad shape" with their bones protruding from various parts of their bodies, and were removed from the property and taken into custody of the sheriff's office — the deputy also attempted to contact the owners of the horses with no success.
"Based on the exigent circumstances of the horses’ living conditions and body conditions, the inability to contact the animals’ owners and the property owner’s inability to properly care for the horses, the property owner released the horses to the Sheriff’s Office for safekeeping," the sheriff's office said.
On Aug. 8, a local veterinarian examined the 11 horses and assigned each a Body Condition Score (BCS), which is a scale ranging from one to nine with the average or ideal horse weight being a five out of nine.
The veterinarian found the horses to be "very thin, exhibiting signs of malnourishment," and scored each of them a one out of nine.
"Based off the deputy’s observations and the veterinarian’s assessment, which established probable cause, the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office issued 14 arrest warrants for Colton Hale alleging cruelty to livestock animals (abandonment - failure to provide necessary food, water, or care)," police said.
Colton Hale was taken into custody in Gatesville on Thursday, Aug. 17, on bonds totaling $35,000 — he was released on bond on Saturday, Aug. 19.
This investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are anticipated.
“These horses were in a terrible situation, and I am happy they have been removed and are receiving the care and attention they deserve,” said Coryell County Sheriff, Scott A. Williams.
“Sometimes the ideas of neglect or cruelty to animals can be subjective, but this is an apparent case of cruelty through abandonment when the owners made the decision to stop providing even basic care for these horses. We have zero-tolerance for cruelty to animals, whether they be livestock or pets in Coryell County, and I think this situation illustrates that. Our only hope is that these animals continue to improve and can live out their lives in loving, caring homes.”
25 News will provide any updates or additional details to this story as they become available.
