OLYMPIA — A Sequim woman has been charged with 30 counts of first-degree animal cruelty from incidents that occurred in 2021 and 2022, according to a press release from the state Attorney General’s Office.
Angela Jacobsen, 53, who also was arrested in April for first- and second-degree animal cruelty, was charged Tuesday in Clallam County Superior Court.
First-degree animal cruelty is a Class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. The punishment was increased in 1994 with the passage of what came to be known as Pasado’s Law. It was named after a 21-year-old donkey at Bellevue’s Carkeek Park that was killed by three teenage boys in April 1992.
The case began on Dec. 31, 2021, when Clallam County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of animal cruelty at a residence on Toad Road in Carlsborg. A witness had reported numerous animals living in what were described as “deplorable” conditions and appeared to be unfed and lacking veterinary care, according to the sheriff’s office.
The animals were underweight and most had other ailments from improper housing, the sheriff’s press release stated.
The animals, with the exception of a few dogs and the ferrets, were taken to Center Valley Animal Rescue in Quilcene.
Jacobsen was arrested in February 2022 after she was found in possession of one goat, one emu, two ferrets, 27 dogs and 207 poultry, ducks and geese, the sheriff’s office said.
The 30 felonies charged Tuesday applied to mistreatment of two dogs, the emu, two roosters, 13 geese, four chickens and eight ducks “on or about Dec. 31, 2021” until “on or about Feb. 11, 2022,” according to court documents.
Then Jacobsen was arrested April 2 for investigation of one count of first-degree animal cruelty and two counts of second-degree animal cruelty after she was found in possession of 15 dogs, two cats, one pig and 222 poultry, ducks and geese that were determined to be neglected and underweight, the sheriff’s office said.
She was released on April 3 after prosecutors declined to file charges and referred the cases to the state Attorney General’s Office, which prosecuted the 2021 and 2022 incidents.