The second half of a Delaware County mother-daughter duo no longer faces criminal charges in an animal cruelty case after the charges were dismissed.
All charges against Sharon Hinton, 73, were dismissed June 25, according to Delaware Municipal Court records. The records do not indicate who initiated the dismissal or why, but they state Hinton must pay court costs, which total about $185.
Hinton and her daughter, Angela Kimbleton, 51, each faced nearly two dozen misdemeanor charges after Delaware County Sheriff’s investigators alleged in court documents that Humane Society of Delaware County agents removed nine dogs, five pot belly pigs, three cats, two chickens, a duck, turtle and rabbit Jan. 23 from their Troy Township home.
Kimbleton pleaded guilty in March to five animal cruelty-related charges and was ordered to pay more than $5,300 in restitution to the humane society, plus fines and court costs, according to court records. Seventeen such charges were dismissed.
A sheriff’s office report detailed conditions inside the home in January, alleging it was dirty and filled with feet-high piles of trash, clothing and other items. Animal feces and urine were also throughout the home, while dogs were held in crates that were zip-tied shut.
Several windows to the home were broken, the report alleged, and covered with blankets, while the garage area had no heat. Some of the animals had injuries or other ailments, like frostbite and lice.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Delaware County mother-daughter duo’s animal cruelty charges dropped
Reporting by Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
