Jury convicts man of horse abuse

ADAMS COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) - The Adams County man charged with 13 misdemeanor counts of Cruelty to Animals has been found guilty on 12 of those counts. The jury also found him guilty on a felony count of Improperly Disposing of a Dead Animal.

It took the jury three hours to convict Rick Hill. His trial followed the August 2009 police seizure of 37 horses from his Adams County farm on County Road 500 North, just west of Decatur.

Tuesday morning, Hill was called as the defense's only witness. He told the jury he knew the "body condition" on some of the horses was not as good as it could have been but didn't believe any of the horses were in danger.

The prosecution pointed out that despite Hill's admitted knowledge that some of his horses could be doing better, he did not seek medical attention for them and did not take advantage of help available from friends.

During closing arguments, the defense still insisted that Hill was not cruel to his animals because he gave them food and water every day.

The prosecution agreed Hill may have given them food and water, but pointed out that not all of the horses were actually eating. The prosecution said this indicated he still neglected his responsibility to those 13 horses because he didn't help them do so.

"Rick's had [the horses] for 50 years without any problems. He's got one year that he doesn't have a job, and he was too embarassed to ask for help," said one of Hill's supporters, Meleta Brown. Brown was emotional after hearing the jury's verdict, saying that those horses were all Hill had, and now he has nothing.

"I think he tried," said horse advocate Bill Miller, who has fostered some of the horses recovered from Hill's farm. "Rick Hill is not a bad man and I wish him no ill will, but for the good of the horses, they're better off," said Miller.

Sentencing is set for February 9th. Hill faces up to three years for the Class D Felony charge against him, and up to one year for each Class A Misdemeanors, according to Adams County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tracy Heltz Noetzel.