Oct. 13—A woman accused of animal cruelty related to “horrific” conditions on her Toledo property will serve 60 days in jail and is permanently prohibited from owning, caring for or residing with any animal after she entered Alford pleas to animal cruelty charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
Alice M. McKnight, 76, of Toledo, was charged with one count of first-degree animal cruelty and four counts of second-degree animal cruelty on April 26 after Lewis County Animal Control officers toured her property in March.
McKnight was accused of causing the horses at her Toledo property “unjustifiable pain” by failing to provide them necessary amenities, including shelter, sanitation and medical attention, according to charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
Of the five horses that Lewis County Animal Control seized from the property, at least two had injuries that had not been treated and one was ill. All five horses were considered emaciated.
Many of the 42 living horses Lewis County Animal Control officers observed on the property when they executed a search warrant on March 31 were considered malnourished, according to court documents.
In addition to the cruelty allegedly shown toward the living animals on her property, McKnight was accused of fatally poisoning one horse with Promazine, causing it “an unnecessary amount of suffering before it died,” according to court documents.
McKnight entered Alford pleas — meaning she does not admit guilt — to all five charges on Sept. 21.
“I am not admitting to the facts, and I am pleading guilty pursuant to Alford, meaning that I agree that if a jury heard the facts as presented in the affidavit of probable cause, and if they believed those facts, I would likely be convicted,” McKnight wrote in her guilty plea.
A Lewis County Superior Court judge sentenced McKnight Sept. 21 to a total of 60 days in jail, achieved via one 60-day jail sentence for the first-degree animal cruelty charge and four consecutive 364 day jail sentences with 349 days suspended for 24 months.
If McKnight commits another criminal offense within those 24 months, she will be required to serve the full sentences.
The standard sentencing range for the first-degree animal cruelty charge was 0 to 365 days in jail and the standard range for the second-degree animal cruelty charges was 0 to 364 days.
Because she was convicted on a first-degree animal cruelty charge, state law permanently prohibits McKnight from owning, caring for or residing with any animal.
State law mandates a $1,000 fee for the first violation of that prohibition, a $2,500 fee for the second violation and a gross misdemeanor charge for each subsequent violation.
As part of her sentence, McKnight is required to reimburse Lewis County for all costs associated with her forfeited animals, including adoption of those animals and all veterinary costs incurred by the county related to McKnight’s case.
The specific amount will be determined at a restitution hearing 180 days after McKnight’s release from jail.
McKnight was booked into the Lewis County Jail immediately after her sentencing hearing on Sept. 21.
Given that she serves the full 60 days of her sentence, McKnight is scheduled to be released from jail in mid-December.