Post by Admin on Jan 7, 2009 22:03:52 GMT -5
www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/01/07/news/doc4964d3846cb78539230652.txt
HOOSICK - State Police arrest¬ed two people Monday in connec¬tion with the December killing of a pet horse at a Hoosick barn after an extensive investigation.
Michael J. Lohnes, 25, of Hoosick Falls, was charged with third-degree burglary and crimi¬nal mischief, both felonies, as well as misdemeanor animal cru¬elty. His girlfriend, Alyna A. O’Donovan, 17, was charged with criminal mischief, criminal impersonation and hindering prosecution. She is not believed to have been present during the bur¬glary and killing of the horse, but has been on the run with Lohnes since the incident, police said.
Both are currently being held at the Rensselaer County Jail with¬out bail.
Lohnes had been sought by police since a pet horse named Skye was found dead on Dec. 22, with a slit throat and a deep cut to the back, at a barn owned by Charles Lohnes, a cousin, on Hill Road in Hoosick. Other buildings on the property were broken into and several items were stacked near the door, apparently intend¬ed to be taken.
Charles Lohnes informed police at the time that he suspect¬ed his cousin, whom he said he has not been close to in recent years, was the culprit. Criminal behavior was nothing new for Michael, his cousin said, and he had numerous arrest war¬rants against him at the time.
The ani¬mal cruelty charges do not fall under Buster’s Law, which established aggravat¬ed animal cruelty as a felony in 1999. The horse does not consti¬tute the "companion animal" in the law, said State Police Investigator Christopher O’Brien, who worked the case.
However, if it can be proved to the district attorney’s office that Skye was a show horse - which her owner has said she was - the charges can be upgraded to a felony, O’Brien said, which would carry at least a year in prison.
Skye’s owner, Dawn Feathers of Hoosick Falls, is still mystified as to why someone would have killed her horse. She doubted it was any grudge against her, and she said she has never met Lohnes.
"I’ve never known that man in my life," she said. "Never tripped over him. First time I ever saw him was on the ‘Wanted’ poster."
The investigation of the case was extensive and interviews were conducted as far away as Virginia, police said, and at least half a dozen houses were searched.
"We’ve been looking for this guy since the day this hap¬pened," O’Brien said. "This has more or less been a priority to us. We wanted to put this to bed."
The day after the incident, police searched Lohnes’s resi¬dence at 31 Third St. in Hoosick Falls. Further evidence discov¬ered in his home tied him to the incident, police said.
O’Donovan, who was on pro¬bation, was believed to be travel¬ing with Lohnes as police were searching for him. She informed the Rensselaer County probation department on Dec. 29 that she was removing her monitoring bracelet because police were looking for her boyfriend.
The pair were eventually locat¬ed and arrested at 610 19th St. in Watervliet Monday. Police arrest¬ed O’Donovan first and returned about four hours later for Lohnes, O’Brien said.
O’Donovan gave police a false name and false information about Lohnes’s whereabouts when arrested, he said, which resulted in her charges, along with destroying the probation bracelet.
The pair was later arraigned in Hoosick Town Court.
The arrests bring little closure to Feathers, who has been a lover of horses since she was a teenag¬er.
She bought Skye for just $1 four and a half years ago and carefully rehabilitated the horse, who had arthritis and a lame foot that left her incapable of carrying a rider. At the time Feathers acquired the mare, the clinic car¬ing for Skye was running out of treatment options.
After two years of care from Feathers, Skye was a healthy horse that could carry a rider and learn tricks with ease.
She is happy the investigation has concluded, but worries that if convicted Lohnes will face a sen¬tence too brief.
"I can only hope there’s strong enough animal cruelty laws that will keep him behind bars for a while, along with all the other charges," she said. "The brutality of it, I’m sorry, but a year or two in jail just isn’t enough."
HOOSICK - State Police arrest¬ed two people Monday in connec¬tion with the December killing of a pet horse at a Hoosick barn after an extensive investigation.
Michael J. Lohnes, 25, of Hoosick Falls, was charged with third-degree burglary and crimi¬nal mischief, both felonies, as well as misdemeanor animal cru¬elty. His girlfriend, Alyna A. O’Donovan, 17, was charged with criminal mischief, criminal impersonation and hindering prosecution. She is not believed to have been present during the bur¬glary and killing of the horse, but has been on the run with Lohnes since the incident, police said.
Both are currently being held at the Rensselaer County Jail with¬out bail.
Lohnes had been sought by police since a pet horse named Skye was found dead on Dec. 22, with a slit throat and a deep cut to the back, at a barn owned by Charles Lohnes, a cousin, on Hill Road in Hoosick. Other buildings on the property were broken into and several items were stacked near the door, apparently intend¬ed to be taken.
Charles Lohnes informed police at the time that he suspect¬ed his cousin, whom he said he has not been close to in recent years, was the culprit. Criminal behavior was nothing new for Michael, his cousin said, and he had numerous arrest war¬rants against him at the time.
The ani¬mal cruelty charges do not fall under Buster’s Law, which established aggravat¬ed animal cruelty as a felony in 1999. The horse does not consti¬tute the "companion animal" in the law, said State Police Investigator Christopher O’Brien, who worked the case.
However, if it can be proved to the district attorney’s office that Skye was a show horse - which her owner has said she was - the charges can be upgraded to a felony, O’Brien said, which would carry at least a year in prison.
Skye’s owner, Dawn Feathers of Hoosick Falls, is still mystified as to why someone would have killed her horse. She doubted it was any grudge against her, and she said she has never met Lohnes.
"I’ve never known that man in my life," she said. "Never tripped over him. First time I ever saw him was on the ‘Wanted’ poster."
The investigation of the case was extensive and interviews were conducted as far away as Virginia, police said, and at least half a dozen houses were searched.
"We’ve been looking for this guy since the day this hap¬pened," O’Brien said. "This has more or less been a priority to us. We wanted to put this to bed."
The day after the incident, police searched Lohnes’s resi¬dence at 31 Third St. in Hoosick Falls. Further evidence discov¬ered in his home tied him to the incident, police said.
O’Donovan, who was on pro¬bation, was believed to be travel¬ing with Lohnes as police were searching for him. She informed the Rensselaer County probation department on Dec. 29 that she was removing her monitoring bracelet because police were looking for her boyfriend.
The pair were eventually locat¬ed and arrested at 610 19th St. in Watervliet Monday. Police arrest¬ed O’Donovan first and returned about four hours later for Lohnes, O’Brien said.
O’Donovan gave police a false name and false information about Lohnes’s whereabouts when arrested, he said, which resulted in her charges, along with destroying the probation bracelet.
The pair was later arraigned in Hoosick Town Court.
The arrests bring little closure to Feathers, who has been a lover of horses since she was a teenag¬er.
She bought Skye for just $1 four and a half years ago and carefully rehabilitated the horse, who had arthritis and a lame foot that left her incapable of carrying a rider. At the time Feathers acquired the mare, the clinic car¬ing for Skye was running out of treatment options.
After two years of care from Feathers, Skye was a healthy horse that could carry a rider and learn tricks with ease.
She is happy the investigation has concluded, but worries that if convicted Lohnes will face a sen¬tence too brief.
"I can only hope there’s strong enough animal cruelty laws that will keep him behind bars for a while, along with all the other charges," she said. "The brutality of it, I’m sorry, but a year or two in jail just isn’t enough."
