28-year-old KATY LYNELL JONES and her husband, 26-year-old RICHARD ALLEN JONES JR. (both pictured) have been sentenced on animal cruelty charges for failing to properly care for their horses. The neglect sadly caused the death of one of the horses.
According to Escambia County prosecutors, the couple “owned” horses on Killam Road near Century who were not being cared for. Prosecutors said that between July 2022 and February 2023, the JONESES “failed to provide proper care and treatment to their property, resulting in intentional, unnecessary and repeated pain and suffering to said horses.”
On February 4, 2023, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office responded to a call about horses who had been left in a random field on Killam Road. The reporting party said one of the horses was down and suffering because he had not been fed.
One of the responding deputies wrote in his report: “I observed a horse lying on its side in the field, and the horse appeared to be dead. As I approached the horse that was lying on its side, the horse attempted to lift its head in an attempt to get up, but was barely able to move. I observed the horse to be extremely emaciated, with its ribs and hip bones protruding.”
The deputy went on to report: “I observed the area around the horse to be torn and gouged in a circular area where the horse had obviously been struggling and spinning on the ground in an attempt to get up. The horse’s head and neck were lying in horse feces. It was obvious the horse had been there for some time.”
The deputy additionally reported: “I did not observe any feed residue in the pasture that would indicate the animals had been fed recently. I also observed that the water trough was dry and there was no potable water in the pasture. I observed a small area of standing water in the pasture that appeared unsafe for consumption.”
Deputies also found another horse in the pasture area who was also extremely emaciated, with protruding ribs and hip bones and his hooves were extremely cracked and split.
A goat and a small pony were also found in the pasture and according to deputies they appeared to be healthy.
Escambia County Animal Control and the Escambia County livestock officer were notified and responded to the scene to remove all the Voiceless Victims.
It was determined that the JONESES were the animals’ guardians and that they had lived in the home on the property several months prior.
While officials were on site, the son of the property owner arrived and said that the JONESES had moved from the property in July 2022.
When KATY LYNELL JONES had a FaceTime conversation with an Animal Control Officer, she said that the horses had been fed three days before deputies went to the property. She also said that it had been about two weeks since they had been given a bale of hay. Furthermore, she told the ACO that no veterinarian had been called to check on the horses. She claimed that her husband would check on the horses and move them to green grass.
The JONESES were arrested on August 17, 2023, and charged with two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty. They were released a few minutes after their arrest and according to court documents they were facing up to five years in prison.
However, Escambia County Circuit Court judge Linda L. Nobles was very generous when sentencing the scum and showed them the compassion they did not have for those Innocent Souls!
On September 12, 2024, KATY LYNELL JONES and RICHARD ALLEN JONES JR. pleaded no contest to the charges and the judge withheld adjudication in sentencing each to 270 days in the Escambia County Jail on each count to be served concurrently with probation terminating on release.
The husband was remanded into custody to begin serving his sentence while the wife was ordered to report to a probation officer within hours of the sentencing. The judge allowed the wife to remain free and ordered her to turn herself in to serve her sentence within 10 days of the husband’s release. The sentencing arrangement was made due to the couple having young children at home.
“Justice was served today for Slick, Sonny and Journey who were seized last year from a property in Century, FL. after suffering severe neglect. Unfortunately, it was too late for Slick who died just hours after he arrived at our facility, but he was not alone when he took his last breath. We almost lost Sonny also, but with the assistance of Gulf Coast Equine Hospital, he pulled through. Journey, a small pony also survived. Sonny and Journey are now healthy and adopted!
The husband and wife both received nine months in the county jail which is a huge victory! They both had their own private counsel and little to no criminal history. We were expecting probation, but Escambia County takes animal cruelty very seriously and strives to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.
We are very grateful for the investigator who worked this case and testified today at the sentence hearing. We also appreciate the judge and state attorneys office who made sure they were held accountable for their negligence.
Animal cruelty should not be tolerated, as it speaks to a person’s lack of ability to care, which usually affects humans in their life; their spouse and children are also victims. It is factual that most serial killers started with animal abuse. Their minds are sick and twisted. So, holding people accountable for animal cruelty can hopefully change a mindset before others suffer.
We wanted to share some photos; some are hard to look at, but others show how well Sonny and Journey are doing! We also honor Slick’s memory by making sure his pasture buddies will never suffer again! 💕💕”
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Mugshots shared from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office
