Utica Man Who Pleaded Guilty to Animal Cruelty Charges Wants to Change Plea

Utica Man Who Pleaded Guilty to Animal Cruelty Charges Wants to Change Plea

SCHUYLER, N.Y. — The Utica man who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after a horse was found dead on his property wants to take that guilty plea back.

Derek Roberts appeared in Schuyler Town Court on Monday.

Derek Roberts appeared in Schuyler Town Court Monday.

NEWSChannel 2’s cameras were not allowed to record the proceedings.

In December of last year, Roberts was charged.

A Utica man is facing animal cruelty charges after one dead horse and five neglected others were found last week on a property he rents in Schuyler. 

State Police, at the time, said a horse was found dead and four surviving horses were emaciated and in need of care.

The horses were found on land Roberts leases on Route 5 in Schuyler.

Motions have been scheduled for next month, and the judge is expected to answer the request on Dec. 18.

When four emaciated horses were seized last December from a property in Schuyler, the Herkimer County Humane investigator said the only way they’d survive would be if they got the proper care.

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