A District Court judge will sentence Ballantine dog breeder Linda Kapsa on Aug. 11.
Judge Susan Watters filed an order Tuesday setting Kapsa's sentencing for aggravated animal cruelty. Kapsa pleaded no contest to the charge on July 9, seven months after county officials twice raided her property in Ballantine and seized about 200 dogs and other animals.
At sentencing, Watters will determine how long Kapsa, 59, should remain on probation, how many animals she can keep and how much she owes in restitution.
According to a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend that Kapsa be placed on probation for 20 years. The lengthy probation is possible because prosecutors and Kapsa agreed that she would be designated a persistent felony offender.
Under state law, a defendant can be designated a persistent felony offender if he or she commits a new felony offense within five years of being sentenced for a previous felony crime. The law sets a sentencing enhancement for persistent felony offenders of between five and 100 years in prison.
Kapsa received a three-year suspended sentence in March 2004 after pleading guilty to a felony charge of issuing a bad check. In that case, Kapsa was ordered to pay about $1,200 in restitution. She was also given credit for two days she spent in the Yellowstone County jail following her arrest.
Deputy County Attorney Ingrid Rosenquist, who prosecuted Kapsa, said filing for a persistent felony offender designation is a discretionary matter for prosecutors. She noted that state law sets the maximum prison sentence for aggravated animal cruelty at two years. Efforts to increase the punishment failed during the last Legislature.
Kapsa's plea agreement does not indicate whether she will ask the judge to impose a shorter sentence. Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss a second felony charge and four related misdemeanor charges against Kapsa.
The judge will also decide how many animals Kapsa will be able to keep on her 10-acre property. Prosecutors will recommend that she be allowed to keep no more than six altered companion dogs, while according to the plea agreement, Kapsa can ask the judge for up to 20 unaltered dogs.
At the time of the raids, authorities said they found about 200 dogs on her property, many of them underfed and suffering from untreated injuries and disease. About a dozen dead dogs were found on the property, including one in Kapsa's bedroom.
About 20 dogs that escaped capture during the raids remain on Kapsa's property, where she bred English shepherds as part of her Shady Lane Kennels business. The plea agreement states that Kapsa will turn those dogs over to "an appropriate rescue group at the time of sentencing."
Kapsa will also be allowed to keep 40 chickens, 20 goats, three altered cats, eight horses and two cockatiels, according to the plea agreement.
"The number of animals (dogs, cats, goats, chickens, horses, cockatiels) the defendant may possess are strictly subject to the defendant's actual ability to provide humane care and adequate food, water and shelter," the plea agreement states. "The defendant's probation officer may notify authorities if the aforementioned requirements are not met."
Also left open in the plea agreement is how much Kapsa will be required to pay in restitution.
County authorities have said that the total cost of caring for Kapsa's animals since December has reached about $160,000. The public cost has been reduced by about $43,000 in donations of cash, food and supplies.
In the plea agreement, Kapsa agrees to pay restitution "for the care and custody of the animals following seizure," although no amount is stated. Kapsa will be allowed to present evidence regarding restitution, and prosecutors agreed not to seek a lien or forfeiture of Kapsa's property to fulfill any restitution requirement ordered by the judge.
Kapsa's legal troubles with the county go beyond her two felony criminal convictions, and she has threatened to sue the county and others involved in the recent seizure of her animals, although no lawsuit has been filed.
In 2006, Kapsa settled a civil case she filed against Yellowstone County after authorities ordered the removal of junk vehicles and other debris from her property at 2315 S. 14 Road. The county conducted the cleanup in December 2003, enforcing for the first time a community cleanup ordinance adopted by commissioners in 2001.
Kapsa claimed in the lawsuit that the ordinance was unconstitutional and county officials violated her right to privacy. She claimed she lost $28,000 in property.
The case was settled out of court when the county agreed to pay Kapsa $45,000. Kapsa's attorney said the county agreed to settle the case because it failed to get a judge's order allowing the forced cleanup action. The cleanup was ordered by the county commissioners, but the order was not approved by a judge as required under a federal court ruling.
Posted in Local on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 4:45 pm Updated: 8:23 pm. | Tags: Shady Lane Kennels, Linda Kapsa, Crimewatch
© Copyright 2010, The Billings Gazette, Billings, MT | Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
