Published: April 11, 2007 12:00 am         

Trial on animal cruelty is ordered for a Wakita man

MEDFORD — A Wakita man accused of cruelty to animals has been bound over for trial and will be arraigned on seven felony and two misdemeanor counts concerning the alleged abuse.

Meanwhile some of the animals he is accused of abusing are doing better now, according to a local veterinarian.

George Wesley Gilchrist will be arraigned in district court May 14 on seven felony counts of cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of leaving a carcass in a well, spring, pond or stream.

Authorities said they found about 34 carcasses on Gilchrist’s property nine miles north and four miles west of Medford. Six horses, four of which still are alive, were seized.

Grant County Assistant District Attorney Melissa Blanton presented three witnesses during Gilchrist’s preliminary hearing Tuesday morning.

Tommy Farnsworth, who worked in the area and drove past one of Gilchrist’s properties, testified to seeing unhealthy animals and poor conditions. Farnsworth, who grew up on a dairy farm, said he noticed horses and donkeys on Gilchrist’s land were malnourished.

“Some were so skinny it was just a bag of bones with hide thrown over them,” he told the court. “They were grossly skinny.”

Farnsworth called the Grant County Sheriff’s Office three or four times concerning the animals before authorities became involved, he testified.

“Every two or three days they were needing feed,” he said.

Farnsworth said the day he first noticed the animals had hay was Dec. 5, 2006.

Gilchrist’s attorney, David Williamson, asked Farnsworth if he had used binoculars to look at Gilchrist’s land or taken pictures at either of the properties discussed during the hearing.

Farnsworth said he had and had sent some pictures to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He said he had no ties to any animal rights groups.

“I’m just a concerned citizen,” Farnsworth said.

Williamson asked Farnsworth about a protective ordered against Gilchrist in Alfalfa County.

“You’ve made some bold allegations in another county concerning Mr. Gilchrist,” Williamson said.

Farnsworth said he’d been told by neighbors Gilchrist was “a dangerous man, a dirty man, and he will shoot you in the back.”

He said, “It’s enough to make me feel uncomfortable.”

Grant County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Biggs and veterinarian Kristy Krueger both testified about the conditions of Gilchrist’s land and animals when a search warrant was served at the properties Dec. 14.

Biggs said the animals were in varying states of healthiness, and when authorities searched the property there were three spots where hay had been.

“There was some feed in the barn, but it was partitioned off where nothing could get to it,” he testified.

Biggs said veterinarians and members of Enid Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took blood and fecal samples from the animals, as well as samples of hay.

Krueger said at the two pastures there was no food for the more than 65 animals.

“We didn’t see any,” she told the prosecutor about available food.

Krueger said one animal was euthanized on site and another later died after being seized from Gilchrist.

“They didn’t have any body fat,” she said of the animals. “They were skeletons and skin. All of them had worms.”

Krueger explained to the court conditions shown in photos taken during the execution of the search warrant that were admitted as evidence.

She said most of the animals seized from the property are faring better, with the exception of one that still hasn’t completely recovered.

Associate District Judge Jack Hammontree bound Gilchrist over for trial, saying enough probable cause and evidence had been shown during the hearing to warrant the case moving further along.

Williamson said he would object and wanted it noted there was testimony there was at least a minimal amount of food and water on Gilchrist’s properties.

Gilchrist remains free on $9,000 bond and will appear before District Judge Ronald Franklin May 14 for arraignment.