Former pet shop owner pleads guilty in animal cruelty case | Local News
The previous owner of a Burnside pet store that was shut down by legislation enforcement final September has pleaded responsible to solve 3 individual conditions in Pulaski District Court.
Timothy Charles Lorraine, 62, of Whitley City, transformed his plea final Wednesday and was sentenced to 365 days in jail, probated for 24 months, and was fined a complete of $7,100.
Two of the conditions ended up investigated by Burnside Law enforcement Department and included 19 counts and 34 counts, respectively, of second-degree Animal Cruelty stemming from an investigation courting back to April 2021 into Tim’s Reptiles and Exotics, which had been situated off South US 27 at the previous Tri County Flea Current market.
In accordance to the warrant served on Lorraine by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, the animals inside of the store were being subjected to “cruel and injurious treatment by way of failure to present satisfactory foodstuff, consume, house [and] health and fitness treatment.”
For the duration of the September 1 execution of the search and seizure warrant, Burnside Law enforcement led the investigation assisted by Pulaski County Animal Handle, the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Exclusive Investigation Device, the Pulaski County Attorney’s Workplace and the Somerset-Pulaski County Humane Modern society.
Because of to the scale of the operation, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) — based mostly in Washington, DC — was also enlisted by BPD to assistance rescue some 150 exotic animals that have been in the store when it was shut down. Of that number, Burnside Law enforcement Main Mike Hill estimated that there ended up 80 animals — like snakes, lizards, turtles, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils — to course of action with the remainder remaining fish.
Main Hill informed the Commonwealth Journal at the time that authorities have been on scene for far more than 7 hrs.
It was for these two instances that Lorraine gained a yr-long sentence, for which he is beneath unsupervised probation for two years.
The third case was introduced by Kentucky Section of Fish & Wildlife Means and concerned 16 counts of Buying, Selling, or Transporting Safeguarded Wildlife as perfectly as two counts of Resident Business License Violation — for which he was fined another $1,800.
In addition to the fines — fundamentally $100 for every depend across the a few conditions — Lorraine has been purchased to dedicate no further more violations of legislation and prohibited from possessing, functioning, volunteering at, or being employed by “any business enterprise (for revenue or not for earnings) that consists of animals of any sort.”
Lorraine has right up until January 25, 2023, to pay out his fines.
