RUTHERFORD COUNTY, N.C. -- Controversy over a puppy mill case this week is making waves in the mountains.
Last week a spokesperson for the United States Humane Society was quoted in a local newspaper in saying that charges against a woman arrested in a puppy mill case were dropped.
But on Tuesday, District Attorney Ted Bell said that all 48 misdemeanor charges against 76-year-old Lora Lancaster of Mooresboro still stand. He said the comments may have stemmed from a shift in the charges.
Bell said that the charges against Lancaster involve housing animals in unhealthy conditions, and the state animal cruelty statute doesn't address that issue so he shifted the charges to be applied under Rutherford County law.
Bell said the move was to ensure his best chance at winning the case.
The change will have an impact on the sentence Lancaster could receive when the case goes to trial by shifting the maximum penalty from 40 days behind bars to 15.
"I have two rescue dogs myself," Bell said at the courthouse Tuesday. "Many times we can't do what we want to do, we can only do what the law allows us to do."
Bell also said the a judge, not him, ordered the animals to be returned to the county last Saturday - so that Lancaster could compare them with her microchip records.
Bell said he's been receiving about 150 angry emails a day since the USHS alleged that he had dropped the charges against Lancaster. He's now scheduled a town hall event at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the courthouse to answer questions about the case.
Related Links:
Mountain Humane Society Certified For Puppy Rescue
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