Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney Lance Richardson has informed The Equiery that he has now filed a total of 134 charges of animal cruelty (for criminal neglect) against Marsha Parkinson, owner of Canterbury Stables in Centreville, Maryland and owner of the 134 Polish Arabian horses impounded on April 29, 2011.
The case was scheduled to be heard in September, but was rescheduled to December 8 after Parkinson’s original attorney stepped off the case. At that point, there were only 67 charges filed. The State’s Attorney has repeatedly made offers to discuss a plea arrangement, but told The Equiery, “It’s difficult to negotiate a plea with her when she doesn’t have an attorney.”
As a result, Parkinson now faces one misdemeanor count of animal neglect for every horse on the farm, and reportedly has a new attorney. If convicted, Parkinson could face up to 90 days in jail for each count and a fine of up to $1,000 for each count.
Parkinson has not returned calls from The Equiery.
Click here to read The Equiery’s other news posts on the Canterbury case.
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Learn about the 40 year wild roller coaster ride of the Arabian Horse market.
If you missed it in our August 2011 issue, you can read the article, in full, on our archives:
The Arabian Gold Rush: The Rise and Fall of the Arab Market
The Maryland Hay Bank has been established by The Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue charity to assist private horse owners who are experiencing a financial hardship or a personal crisis with free hay for their horses for thirty (30) days. The Maryland Hay Bank is donation driven, and hay is provided at absolutely no cost to qualified recipients.
