Man behind controversial horse video charged with animal cruelty
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The following is a news release from the Teton County Wyoming Sheriff’s Office.
On Friday, August 25, a Teton County Deputy Sheriff issued Forrest Stearns a citation for cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor in the State of Wyoming. The cruelty to animals case stemmed from an incident that occurred on Tuesday, August 8, whereby Mr. Stearns was videotaped next to a horse he had tied to the ground. The horse eventually died.
Earlier on August 25, Deputy Doug Raffelson interviewed a witness to the incident involving Forrest Stearns tying the horse to the ground. The witness had left the area soon after the incident of August 8 and went on a backpacking trip and therefore was unavailable for an interview. The witness had not returned to the area until this week.
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The witness was able to provide credible evidence that the horse was tied to the ground for a minimum of three hours. Prior to receiving this statement, investigators did not believe there was enough substantiation of evidence to warrant the citation. Forrest Stearns was issued a misdemeanor citation and given a court date of August 31, 2017.
The case will be forwarded to the Teton County and Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for the possible filing of the charges.