Three horses, seized and maintained by the Barren Fiscal Court, stand along a fencerow at the Barren River State Park. The horses are the subject of a lawsuit filed in Barren Circuit Court on Monday, June 13, 2022.
(PHOTO: GLASGOW-BARREN COUNTY TOURISM)
STORY BY BRENNAN D. CRAIN, WCLU News
GLASGOW — In a lawsuit filed Monday, a Christian County couple and their equine business allege several individuals conspired and coordinated the confiscation of their horses in Barren County without due process, among other legal infractions.
The suit names numerous elected individuals, including Micheal Hale, judge/ executive of Barren County; Barren County Magistrates Jeff Botts, Trent Riddle, Carl Dickerson, Tim Coomer, Mark Bowman, Kenneth Sartin and Billy Houchens; and Glasgow Mayor Harold Armstrong.
Hale’s wife, Shani, is named in the suit, too, alongside Steve Bulle, Suzanna Johnson and Shelley Furlong, the Barren County Animal Control officer.
Bulle was tasked with the upkeep of the horses when they were initially seized and later provided a bill for that care to Mr. Turner, according to the suit. Johnson allegedly posted grotesque photos of ailing horses that were not representative of the horses in the county’s possession.
“Suzanna Johnson posted photos intended to ‘dirty up’…Mr. Turner,” the suit said.
The suit was filed by Gary S. Logsdon, a Brownsville-based attorney, on behalf of Greg Turner, Brittany Turner and BG Stables. Brittany owned nine horses stabled at Barren River State Park, which were later confiscated on Sept. 10, 2019, by county officials, according to the lawsuit.
“We’re just trying to make sure that justice is served in this case, and that it serves a warning to those who would otherwise abuse their positions,” Logsdon said in a phone call with WCLU News on Tuesday. “That there is a date of reckoning and date where you will be called to task.”
Among testimonies at various fiscal court meetings, Mr. Hale claimed the horses were seized after the county learned of their neglect and abandonment. He also described how he housed and funded the upkeep of at least one horse on his personal farm along Quarry Road.
Some magistrates said the horses were neither neglected nor abandoned and found issue with the county’s upkeep of the animals. Most magistrates supported the sale of the horses some time ago, and closed bids were received at the Barren County Government Center.
After an apparent halt in the bidding process and eventual sale of the horses, sources familiar with the subject corroborated information that a lawsuit was pending. The county continues to care for the horses at the Barren River State Park, the same location they seized them from.
Mr. Turner pleaded guilty on Feb. 9, 2021, to nine counts of cruelty to animals after he was confronted with a board and care invoice, which exceeded $35,000, according to the lawsuit. It also said he spent “significant sums of money” to cover legal, travel and accommodation costs.
Turner’s attorney argues his forfeiture of the horses fails to comply with state laws, which yielded the “abuse of process and malicious prosecution.”
The lawsuit also alleges individuals engaged in complicity, theft by unlawful taking or disposition, first degree official misconduct and conversion – a legal term meaning a person without authority or permission intentionally takes or deprives another person’s personal property.
The Turners request a jury trial, according to the suit, and payment for compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and court costs, and interest charged on the money rewarded.
The Barren Circuit Clerk’s Office said Judge John T. Alexander learned of the suit early Tuesday. A hearing was not immediately set.
