After lengthy arguments and testimony Wednesday, the restitution hearing for a 61-year-old Hutchinson area woman convicted in two animal cruelty cases ended with her being ordered to pay 45-hundred dollars.
Linda Sue Adams will have to pay the county that amount for the care of horses they seized from her. That is considerably less then the total amount the county paid, which came to nearly 8-thousand, 370-dollars. The county apparently had the horses appraised which came to nearly 1-thousand, 575-dollars. The state was willing to grant her a credit for that amount meaning she would pay roughly 6-thousand, 795-dollars.
Her attorney Shannon Crane then began disputing that value of the animals saying that the value would be much greater. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Davidson then decided that since there is a dispute, the state would ask for the total amount.
In the end, Magistrate Judge Randy McEwen ordered restitution in the amount of 4-thousand, 500-dollars.
Adams was granted 12-months probation, on a 12-month underlying sentence in a case involving cruelty to animals involving her lack of care of horses in what the state called “on going” conduct since 2009.
The county won a civil action back in August and granted a permanent injunction against Adams to keep her from ever having horses again.
It all came to a head back in April when three dead horses were found on the property and 10 others were said to be starving. The three dead horses were found in various stages of decomposition and others where you could see their rib bones. Once seized and given food, the others immediately started to gain weight.
The other cases against Adams occurred in 2009 and 2011. The state had dropped the 2009 case, then refiled it, but with the plea, dropped it again. She’s also on community corrections for an aggravated burglary conviction from 2009.