UPDATE: NATHANIEL KEEL WHITE FEATHER who abused and neglected 10 horses sentenced - Voice For Us
- voiceforus
- Aug 2, 2020
- 2 min read
- Virginia, USA -
Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that on Friday, July 31, 60-year-old NATHANIEL KEEL WHITE FEATHER (pictured below) was sentenced to 36 months in jail on six counts of neglecting and abusing six horses.
The criminal, who is the former owner and operator of White Feather Trail Rides and Literacy Program in the 3400 block of Pleasants Road in Powhatan, was arrested on March 13, as part of a Powhatan County Animal Control Division investigation.
Ms. Alicia Mahar is the executive director of Circle A Home for Horses in Virginia Beach, a nonprofit horse rescue operation.
She told the court that between October 2018 and August 2019, she allowed the defendant to adopt 10 horses.
The accused had told her that it was part of a program for kids that included trail riding.
Ms. Mahar said that all the horses were in excellent condition when she gave them to him and that she periodically would check on them.
At some point, Ms. Mahar advised NATHANIEL KEEL WHITE FEATHER that the horses were thriving until March 3, when the Powhatan Sheriff’s Office sent her pictures of the horses being malnourished.
On March 5, Ms. Mahar made arrangements to pick up all 10 horses.
When she talked to WHITE FEATHER, he told her that only 5 horses were available to be picked up.
He added that the other 5 horses, Franklin, Jupiter, London, J.R., and Good Medicine had passed away.
Ms. Mahar went to pick up the 5 living horses.
Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Cerullo said that she “brought them back to life, and they’re in peak health now.”
He also said about the accused: “He had stopped feeding them, stopped giving them water, stopped giving them medical treatment.”
Cerullo rightfully told the court that WHITE FEATHER could have just reached out to Ms. Mahar for help, but instead, “He didn’t do anything other than let them sit there in that field with no food.”
Even Substitute Judge Jacqueline Reiner said so.
She told WHITE FEATHER he only has himself to blame for the whole situation.
If he had asked Ms. Mahar for assistance or animal control instead of allowing the situation to get out of control, the horses could have received the help they needed, and all this would have been avoided.
As for the dead horses, Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that: “On April 1, Powhatan authorities and the animal law unit of the Virginia Attorney General’s Office located and exhumed the bodies of four horses that had been buried on the property leased by White Feather for his operations. White Feather said a fifth horse had drowned.”
Judge Reiner also banned NATHANIEL KEEL WHITE FEATHER from owning or keeping horses for life.
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