The four people who were arrested Wednesday on a combined 116 animal cruelty-related chargess have been released from the Alachua County jail as of Friday morning, according to court records.
Erin Douglas, 27, and William Garcia, 27, were released to the supervision of court services, while Kimberly Hicks, 43, and Dawson Hicks, 22, were let go on their own recognizance. Four others, who haven’t been arrested, have been charged with the same number of crimes via sworn complaint.
The Gainesville Sun first reported the eight defendants face a combined 232 animal cruelty-related charges after law enforcement discovered a horrific scene of more than two dozen dogs at a Micanopy property, including malnourished puppies found locked in a kennel crawling over other deceased dogs.
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The charges break down to 24 counts of felony aggravated animal cruelty and five additional counts of unlawful disposal of a dead animal, a second-degree misdemeanor, for each defendant.
As a condition of their pretrial release, the foursome is under a standing no-contact order, which prohibits any communication between co-defendants. They are also banned from possessing or coming within 500 feet of any animals.
Deputies say the property, located at 17405 S.E. County Road 234, was littered with skeletal remains and malnourished dogs covered in fleas, ticks and other insects. Several of the dogs were too weak to stand on their own, according to an arrest report.
“All residents on the property assisted in the animals receiving the treatment they did and were directly responsible for their care yet all failed to take action to protect these animals from death and unnecessary pain and suffering,” said Deputy Matthew Davis in the report.
As of Friday, 20 living dogs and a pig have been rescued, some of which had ribs protruding from their skin. At least three of the living dogs were young puppies found lying in the driveway too weak to stand on their own, while three others were found locked inside a kennel resting on top of two dead dogs.
After about 15 years of experience and seeing similar cases, Williams described the situation as sad and unthinkable. Due to the condition of the animals, he added, the dogs will not be available for adoption for a while.
“It was unfortunate that this sort of thing happened,” he said. “It’s very sad to see that. A couple of the deceased animals were in close proximity to the living corridors. It’s just very puzzling that someone living there was walking past that and didn’t do anything about it.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: 4 charged in animal cruelty investigation in Micanopy out of jail